ELEMENTS 



OP 



UNIVERSAL HISTORY, 



NEW AND SYSTEMATIC PLAN ; 



THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE TREATY OF VIENNA. 



TO WHICH IS ADDED, 



A SUMMARY OF THE LEADING EVENTS SINCE THAT PERIOD. 



FOR THE USE OF 



SCHOOLS AND OF PRIVATE STUDENTS, 



BY H. WHITE, B.A., 
ii 

Trinity College, Cambridge. 



SEVENTH AMERICA N E D I T 1 O N , 
WITH ADDITIONS AND UUESTIONS, 

BY JOHN S. HART, A.M. 

Principal of the Philadelphia High School, and Professor 

of Moral and Mental Science, Member of the 

American Philosophical Society, &c. 



PHJ7- a i? e l p h r a : 

LEA & BLANCHARD, 

1847. 






Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 

LEA AND BLANCHARD, 

in the clerk'.' office of the district court of the United States in and for the 
the eastern district of Pennsylvania. 



3 ^ H °i 
J 0<f 



J. Fagan. Stereotv-per. 



12) 



w 



ADVERTISEMENT 
TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 

In presenting to the American public this excel- 
lent compend of Universal History, the original 
work is given entire, without abridgement or altera- 
tion. It has been thought advisable, however, to 
add a few pages to that part of the history which 
relates to the discovery and settlement of North 
America. The portions thus added are distinguished 
from the rest of the book by being enclosed in 
brackets. Numerous questions have been prepared 
for the purpose of facilitating its use as a Text- 
book in schools 



Philadelphia, January, 1844. 

(3) 



PREFACE 



This Volume contains a brief narrative of the principal events 
in the History of the World, from the earliest ages to the present 
time. With the view of facilitating the researches of the student, 
as well as of rendering the work more available for the purposes 
of tuition, the compiler has adopted the novel arrangement of a 
division into periods of centuries. This plan appeared to him 
likely to simplify the study of history, by its enabling the unprac- 
tised reader to synchronize facts, to group round one common 
centre the events occurring at the same time in various and some- 
times widely distant countries, and to prevent that confusion of 
dates and occurrences so common with those who have read his- 
tory in detached portions. As an initiatory work, he trusts that 
it will be found valuable in promoting a knowledge of one of the 
most useful branches of learning ; and it is accordingly presented 
to the Public, not without hope of indulgence and approbation. 

The writer lays no claim to originality: if he shall be pro- 
nounced fortunate in the choice and condensation of his materials, 
he will have attained the object of his wishes. He has consulted 
the best works in the English language, and acknowledges his 
great obligations to several of the more recent French and German 
writers. The references introduced into the body of the work 
serve to indicate the main sources from which his information has 
been derived ; and it is hoped they will also be serviceable to the 
student, by directing the course of his further researches, as well 
as inducing him to continue them in a more extended field. 

As to the method to be pursued in using this manual for the 
purposes of tuition, the compiler deems it unnecessary to offer any 
lengthened directions ; the experienced teacher will readily adopt 
that best suited to the capacities of those under his charge. The 
work may be used simply as a reading-book ; but a certain por- 
tion should be given out for the attentive study of the pupil, after 
which he should be questioned closely, not only as to the more 
1* (v) 



Vi PREFACE. 

general facts, but also the most trivial circumstances recorded. 
With this view, he might be required occasionally to return writ- 
ten answers to a series of questions somewhat like the following, 
which are selected from a list the Compiler has drawn up for the 
use of his own classes : — Origin of the Wars of the Roses, de- 
scribing also the principal events ? — Attacks on the power of the 
English and Scotch aristocracy from 1450 to 1513? — Obstacles 
that Henry VII. encountered on ascending the throne? — Number 
of wars between Charles V. and Francis I., with their principal 
events'? — Causes that led to and favoured Reformation in Ger- 
many ? — -Defects and good qualities of Elizabeth's administration ! 
and similar subjects. In these exercises, the pupil will of course 
be aided by the explanations and directions of the teacher, with 
reference to the authorities to be consulted. 

The importance of combining geographical with historical in- 
formation, will be readily appreciated, and the pupils should at all 
times be able to give at least a general description of the various 
countries and cities mentioned under each century. Those more 
advanced may from time to time be required to construct maps 
f — i. The world, immediately after the dispersion, indicating the 
parts settled by the sons of Noah and their descendants ; 2. Em- 
pire of Alexander ; 3. Roman Empire under Augustus ; 4. Roman 
Empire at period of Barbarian Invasion ; 5. World in time of 
Charlemagne; 6. Europe at Ottoman Invasion; 7. Europe at 
breaking out of French Revolution. They may also be advan- 
tageously employed in forming synoptical tables, as indicated in 
the body of the Work. These may be increased or diminished 
at the option of the teacher ; but the design should ever be to 
make the scholar his own historian, and so to interest and exer- 
cise him in the study, as to impress the facts and dates perma- 
nently on his memory. 

January, 1843. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION, Page 11. 
PART FIRST.— ANCIENT HISTORY. 

FROM THE CREATION, 4004 B. C, TO THE FALL OF THE WESTERN 
EMPIRE, A. D. 476. 



41st Century b.c. 
Creation of the World 13 

9th Century b. c. 
Death of Abel — Posterity of Adam 
— Seth born 14 

24th Century b. c. 
Universal Deluge ib. 

23d Century b. c. 

Sacred History 15 

China 16 

Formation of Nations ib. 

22d Century b. c. 
Egypt - — Beginning of Genuine 
History 17 

20th Century b. c. 
Sacred History 19 

19 th Century b. c. 
Egypt 20 

18th Century b. c. 

Sacred History 21 

Egypt ib. 

17th Century b. c. 

Sacred History 22 

Greece — Origin of the Greek Na- 
tions ib. 

16th Century b.c. 
Sacred History 23 



Greece . 



24 



PAGE 

15th Century b. c. 

Sacred History 25 

Egypt. 27 

Phoenicia ib. 

Greece 28 

14th Century b. c. 

Judaea 29 

Greece ib. 

13th Century b.c. 

Judaea 30 

Greece ib. 

12th Century b. c. 

Judaea 31 

Greece 32 

1 1 th Century b. c. 

Judaea 33 

Greece 35 

Grecian Colonies 36 

10th Century b.c. 

Judaea 37 

Greece 39 

Syria 40 

9th Century b. c. 

Judaea 41 

Greece 43 

Carthage 44 

Macedonia 45 

8th Century b.c. 
Judaea 45 



Greece . 



47 



(vii) 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



Assyria 48 

Lydia 51 

Rome — Origin of the Roman 

People 52 

7th Century b. c. 

Judaea 53 

Assyria 54 

Media 55 

Persia 56 

Egypt 57 

Greece 58 

Rome 60 

6th Century b. c. 

Judaea 61 

Assyria 62 

Persia 64 

Egypt 66 

Greece 67 

Rome 69 

China 70 

5th Century b. c. 

Judaea 71 

Greece ib. 

Persia 77 

Rome 78 

Carthage 81 

4th Century b. c. 

Greece 82 

Arts, Literature and Science among 

the Greeks 89 

Rome... 91 

Judaea 93 

Persia 94 

3d Century b. c. 

Rome 95 

Greece and Macedon 98 

Egypt 99 

Parthia 100 



PAG* 

2d Century b.c. 

Rome 101 

Judaea and Syria 110 

1st Century b.c. 

Rome 112 

Second Literary Era 122 

Judaea ib. 

CHRISTIAN ERA. 

1st Century a. d. 

Rome 124 

Judaea 128 

History of the Church 131 

Britain 133 

2d Century a. d. 

Rome 134 

The Church 137 

3d Century a.d. 

Rome 139 

Palmyra 143 

Persia ib. 

Barbarian Invasions 144 

The Church ib. 

4th Century a. d. 

Rome 147 

Eastern Empire 151 

Western Empire 152 

Barbaric Migrations 153 

The Church 154 

5th Century a. n. 

Division of the Empire 158 

Eastern Empire 159 

Western Empire 160 

Venice 165 

Gaul ib. 

Britain 166 

The Church ib. 

Appendix to Part First — History 

of Literature 168 



PART SECOND—HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 

FROM THE FALL OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE. A.D. 476, TO THE ERA OF THE 
REFORMATION. AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

France 180 



6th Century a. d. 

Greek Empire 

Persia 

Italy 



174 
177 
178 



Spain 183 

Britain 184 

The Church 185 



CONTE NTS. 



IX 



7th Century a.d. 

Greek Empire 186 

Persia 188 

Arabia 189 

Italy 194 

France 195 

Spain 198 

The Church ib. 

8th Century a. d. 

Greek Empire 199 

Arabia 200 

Spain 202 

Italy 204 

France 205 

The World in the time of Charle- 
magne 208 

The Church 209 

Appendix to Eighth Century — 
Fine Arts, from the Fall of 
Rome to Charlemagne 211 

9 th Century a. d. 

Greek Empire 212 

Arabia 214 

Spain 215 

France 216 

The Northmen 218 

Germany 219 

Italy 220 

Britain 222 

The Church 224 

10th Century a.d. 

Greek Empire 225 

Italy 226 

France 227 

Germany 229 

Britain 231 

Spain 232 

Arabian Empire 233 

The Church 234 

The World at the End of the 

Tenth Century 235 

11th Century a.d. 

Greek Empire 236 

Italy 238 

Germany 239 

France 242 

Spain 243 

Arabian Empire 244 



PAGE 

Britain 254 

The Church 249 

The Crusades 251 

State of the World at the Epoch 
of the Crusades, from 1096 
to 1273 254 

12th Century a.d. 

Greek Empire 255 

The East 257 

Italy ib. 

Germany 258 

France 260 

Spain 261 

Britain ib. 

The Church 264 

13th Century a. d. 

Greek Empire 266 

Germany 268 

Italy 270 

France : 275 

Britain 278 

Spanish Peninsula 279 

The East 281 

The Church 282 

Crusades 284 

14th Century a. d. 

Greek Empire 286 

The East 287 

Germany 288 

Italian Peninsula 291 

France 295 

Britain 299 

Spanish Peninsula 303 

The Church 304 

Inventions, &c 306 

15th Century a.d. 

Greek Empire 307 

Ottoman Empire and Turkey . . . 308 

Germany 311 

France 315 

Britain 321 

Italian Peninsula 330 

Spanish Peninsula 334 

Discoveries and Colonies 339 

The Church 341 

Appendix to Part Second — Com- 
merce, the Progress of Learn- 
ing, Discoveries, &c 343 



CONTENTS 



PART THIRD.— MODERN HISTORY. 

FROM THE ERA OF THE REFORMATION. AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF 
THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 



PAGE 

16th Century a. d. 

Britain , 351 

Ireland 361 

France 362 

Italian Peninsula 369 

Spanish Peninsula 374 

The Netherlands 376 

Germany 378 

Hungary and Bohemia 383 

Poland and Russia 384 

Denmark, Sweden and Norway . . 386 
Ottoman Empire and the East. . . 387 

Colonies and Discoveries 391 

Discoveries and Settlements in 

North America 392 

The Church 395 

Letters, Arts and Sciences 398 

17th Century a. d. 

Great Britain 401 

France 407 

Spain and Portugal 410 

Italian Peninsula 411 

Germany 412 

Holland 414 

Denmark 416 

Sweden 417 

Poland 419 

Russia 421 

Ottoman Empire 422 

The East 423 

Colonies 425 

Settlement of the United States. . 426 

The Church 430 

Literature, Arts and Sciences ib. 

18th Century a.d. 

Great Britain 433 

France 440 



PAGE 

Spain 449 

Portugal 452 

Italian Peninsula 453 

Germany 455 

Holland 459 

Denmark 461 

Sweden 463 

Poland 465 

Prussia 468 

Russia 471 

Turkey 474 

Persia 476 

India 477 

United States 481 

Hayti 484 

The Church 486 

Literature, Arts and Sciences 487 

19th Century a.d. 

Great Britain 491 

France 496 



fepam 



504 



Portugal 506 

Italy 507 

Germany 508 

Holland .509 

Denmark ib. 

Sweden 510 

Prussia ib. 

Russia 511 

Turkey 512 

British India 513 

United States 515 

Brazil 517 

Spanish Colonies ib. 

Literature, Arts and Sciences 518 

Conclusion 520 



INTRODUCTION. 



Universal History is commonly divided into three portions : — 

I. Ancient History, which, beginning with the creation of the 
world, 4004 b. c, terminates a. d. 476, in the destruction of the 
Roman empire. 

II. The Middle Ages, which extend from the fall of Rome, a. d. 
476, to the discovery of America, a. d- 1492. 

III. Modern History, which commences at the latter epoch, 
and, if we do not distinguish it from Contemporaneous History, 
is continued to the present time. 

The events which mark the separation between the First and 
Second periods, are the Irruption of the Barbarians, the conse- 
quent fall of the Western Empire, and the foundation of the 
modern European states ; between the Second and the Third are 
the extension of learning by the invention of printing, the taking 
of Constantinople, the maritime discoveries of Spain and Portu- 
gal, with the more extensive use of fire-arms. 

I. Ancient History may be subdivided into four periods: — 

1. The Antediluvian, comprising the creation, the fall of man 
with its immediate train of consequences, and ending with the 
general deluge, 2348 b. c. 

2. The Heroic, commencing with the establishment of the eai 
liest empires and most ancient cities, and including the fabulous 
ages of Greece. 

3. The Historic, which begins with the first Olympiad, 776 b. c, 
nearly synchronous with the foundation of Rome, 753 b. c, and 
comprises the legislative eras of Lycurgus and Solon, the rise 
and fall of the Persian monarchy, and the earlier part of Roman 
history to the end of the Punic wars. 

4. The Roman, from the fall of Carthage, 146 b. c, to that of 
Rome, a. d. 476. 

II. The Middle Ages may be conveniently arranged in the fol- 
lowing six periods : — 

1. The foundation of the modern states of Western Europe, a. d. 
476-622, when the Saxons invaded Britain, 449; the Visigoths 
settled in Spain, 507 ; the Ostrogoths in Italy, 489 ; and the Franks 
began the formation of the French monarchy, a. d. 481. 

. («) 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

2. The second comprehends the age of Mohammed, with the 
propagation of his creed and the establishment of the states which 
embraced his religion, a. d. 622-800. 

3. The third embraces the period when the empire of the West 
was partially restored in the Franko-Germanic dominions of 
Charlemagne, 800-936. 

4. The fourth is the interesting period of the dark ages, 936- 
1100, during which the monarchy of Charlemagne fell to ruin, the 
Capetian dynasty began to reign in France, Italy was parcelled 
out among a number of petty princes; while in Germany Otho 
commenced the long-continued struggle against feudalism. 

5. The fifth is the romantic or heroic period of the Crusades, 
1096-1273, in which the Roman legal code, the foundation of 
great part of modern jurisprudence, began to be studied. 

6. The sixth beheld the revival of the Fine Arts in Italy, the 
taking of Constantinople and consequent diffusion of its learned 
men, the revival of letters, the discovery of America, 1492, and 
the passage round the Cape of Good Hope, 1497. 

III. Modern History may be conveniently divided into six 
portions : — 

1. The period of the Reformation, from its commencement by 
Luther in 1517, till the termination of the long series of Italian 
wars in 1559. 

2. The period of the religious wars, particularly in France, 
from 1559 to the peace of Westphalia in 1648, which produced 
many important changes in Europe. 

3. The period from 1648 to the death of Louis XIV. in 1715, 
during which Russia entered into the European commonwealth, 
and Great Britain began to assume preponderating influence on 
the Continent. 

4. The fourth period terminates with the peace of Versailles, 
1783, which established the independence of the United States, 
and during which Prussia became a first-rate power. 

5. The French Revolution, from the meeting of the States- 
general in 1789, to the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. 

6. The period from the battle of Waterloo, 1815, to the present 
day. 



ELEMENTS 



UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 



PART FIRST. 
ANCIENT HISTORY. 

FROM THE CREATION 4004, B. C. TO THE FALL OF THE WESTERN 
EMPIRE, 476 A. D. 

FORTY-FIRST CENTURY 

4004, Creation of the World. 

Creation, 4004 b. c. — " In the beginning God created the heaven 
and the earth," and by the power of his word, gave to a rude chaotic 
mass the admirable beauty and variety which n* at everywhere salute 
the eye. Man was formed the last and best of his works, in the image 
of his Maker, upright and happy, with powers of understanding and 
will. With his companion Eve, miraculously framed out of his own 
substance, he dwelt in the garden of Eden, where, yielding to the sug- 
gestions of the Tempter, he transgressed the divine commands, and 
incurred all the penalties due to the violation of a positive law. Sin 
with its mournful train entered into the world ; and though the Messiah 
was graciously promised, our first parents, being driven from Paradise, 
were condemned to a life of toil and to the forfeiture of immortality. 

Geologists assign a period to the earth far exceeding that given in the Mosaic 
records, and trace the various stages through which it is supposed to have 
passed from the time when the will of God called its rude germs into existence 
until the creation of man. Water first enveloped the nucleus of the earth ; a 
few shell-fish and plants composed the animal and vegetable life. To these, 
after successive revolutions, were added the mollusca, fishes, and amphibious 
animals. These again made way for the sea-horses, whales, and others, whose 
huge carcasses were in their turn added to the solid matter of the globe, which 
was now beginning to produce vegetable substances adapted to the use and 
support of land-animals. The monsters of creation, such as the mammoth, 
were next called into existence, to disappear after an appointed period, when 
the present race of animals and man himself were to succeed. Such is the 
progress of creation as imagined by the persevering geologists of the last fifty 
years, which, far from contradicting the narrative of Moses, confirms our faith 
in its credibility by actual observation of the earth's surface. 

2 (13) 



14 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

THIRT Y-N INTH C EXT VR Y . 
875, Death of Abel — Posterity of Adam — Seth, born 3874. 

Abel. — After his fall, Adam had two sons, Cain and Aoel ; the one 
a husbandman, the other a shepherd, and each as different from tne 
other in temper as in occupation. Filled with rage and jealousy at the 
acceptance of his brothers sacrifice. Cain put forth his hand and mur- 
dered him, 3875. Thus our first parent beheld the fruits of his disobe- 
dience, not only in the presence of death, till then unknown, but in his 
first-born becoming the minister of vengeance. The descendants of his 
third son, Seth, were as distinguished for piety, as those of Cain for 
irreligrion ; the former were in consequence denominated the sons of God, 
the latter the sons if men. 

In the new world population rapidly increased ; fields were cultivated, cattle 
bred, and their skins used for clothing ; Jabal made the first tents ; musical 
instruments were the invention of Jubal; and Tubal-Cain (supposed by some 
to be the Vulcan of Pagan mythology) discovered the art of working in metals. 
Already the strong began to assume authority over the weak. The offering 
of expiatory sacrihces and the sanctification of the sabbath originated in this 
early period. 



TWENTY-FOURTH CENTURY. 

2348, Universal Deluge. 

Deluge. — The death of Adam (3074.) the translation of Enoch (3017,) 
the feebleness of the other patriarchs, and the luxuriant abundance of 
the earth, filled man's heart with presumption and guilt. Impiety made 
rapid progress, and like a contagious pestilence infected all the mass of 
society. In the midst of the general depravity one individual alone 
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. In the year of the world 1G56, the 
whole of the human race was destroyed by a deluge, the only survivors 
Wing Noah and his family, in all eight persons, who were preserved in 
an ark built in obedience to the divine command, -2348 b. c. On the 
subsiding of the waters, this vessel rested on Mount Ararat, in Arme- 
nia,* whence all the earth was again progressively peopled. The rain- 
bow was then appointed as a covenant between God and man, that 
there should not be any more flood to destroy the earth. 

One of the most remarkable effects of the Deluge was the rapid decrease 
o\ the duration of human life. The ten antediluvian patriarchs lived on an 
average 850 years each, while their immediate successors did not exceed 320. 
But under a favourable climate and with an increasing population, the arts 
soon reached a high state of perfection. The longevity of the postdiluvian 
patriarchs had the effect of maintaining the natural authority of the parent, 
while it also tended to repress the fickle passions of youth. When God's 
more immediate protection was removed, the span of life was contracted ; and 



♦This celebrated mountain is situated in 39^ 4-2' ff, 440 18' E. nearly in the centre 
between the southern extremities of the Euxine and the Caspian seas, and is visible ai 
the distance of lc-0 or 200 miles. Spreading its broad base along the plain of the Araxes, 
it rises in majestic grandeur 17,260 feet above the level .of the sea, the whole of its upper 
region being covered with perpetual snow. It is regarded with the greatest veneration 
by the natives, who have many religious establishments in its vicinity 



TWENTY-THIRD CENTURY B. C. 15 

now its very brevity gives vigour to all the efforts of society, and the rapid 
change of actors inspires each with a hope of excelling in his own brief stage.* 



TWENTY-THIRD CENTURY. 

Sacred History. — Dispersion of Mankind — Formation of Nations — 2247, 

Babel— Nimrod founds the Chaldean Monarchy, 2234. 

China. — First dynasty : Fohi, 2207. 

Sacred History. 

The Dispersion. — The distribution of the world among the children 
of Noah was not made at random ; for as early as the third generation 
after the Flood, it was arranged by the patriarch under the immediate 
direction of God. By this division Europe and Northern Asia fell to 
Japhet ; Central Asia to Shem ; and to Ham were assigned the distant 
regions of Africa. But violence was early used to derange this parti- 
tion ; Nimrod, the Belus of profane writers, expelled Ashur from the 
land of Shinar, and Canaan, the son of Ham, seized upon Palestine, 
which belonged to Shem. In the subsequent expulsion of the Canaan- 
ites by the Hebrews, we behold the certain though tardy retribution of 
the Almighty. 

Babel, 2247. — The descendants of Cush, who had refused to follow 
the rest of the children of Ham into Africa, seized upon the fertile plains 
of Shinar, where under Nimrod they began to build the tower of Babel, 
and lay the foundation of a permanent monarchy. But, lest the pro- 
gress of the infant society of the world should be crushed by an oppres- 
sive despotism, God confounded their language and scattered them over 
the face of the earth. Around that remarkable edificef the magnificent 
city of Babylon was afterwards raised (32° 25' N. 44° E.) 

Assyria and Babylon. — Rejecting the narratives of the Greeks, 
which appear to have no better basis than a vague and popular tradition, 
we learn from the Scripture history that Ashur, being supplanted by 
Nimrod, retired towards the mountains, and built a city of defence on 
the left bank of the Tigris, which afterwards, under the appellation of 
Nineveh, became the seat of empire about the year 2234. Incessant 



* There is much difference of opinion as to the precise epoch of the Deluge. It is 
fixed by the learned authors of VArt de verifier les Dates at 3308 b. c, by the Septuagint 
text at 3246, both of which nearly concur with the beginning of the Hindoo Kali Yug 
3101 b. c. The period assigned to the creation is equally unsettled; and more than 200 
dates have been collected by Desvignoles, ranging from 6984 to 3483, b. c. 

fThe remains of the Tower of Babel are supposed still to exist in the Birs Nemroud 
on the western bank of the Euphrates, about six miles to the south-west of Hillah. Mr. 
Rich describes this venerable ruin as a prodigious mound, nearly half a mile in circum 
ference and 108 feet in height ; on its summit is a solid pile of brick, 37 feet high by 28 
in breadth, shattered at the top, and rent by a large fissure. Around it lie immense frag- 
ments of brick-work, of no determinate figure, and converted into solid vitrified masses, 
as if they had undergone the action of the fiercest fire. Nebuchadnezzar, about GOO e.c 
formed it into that celebrated tower, which was reckoned among the wonders of tht 
world. When Alexander the Great undertook to restore it to its former splendour, 10000 
men were occupied two months in clearing away the ruins caused by the devastations 
of Xerxes. The building was probably intended for a fire-tower, on vvhich to offer sacri 
fices to the Sun (Bel or Baal). 



1<3 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

hostility prevailed for centuries between the Babylonians and Assyrians, 
who had not all left the plains of Shinar (Mesopotamia.) The name 
of Babylon does not again occur in authentic history until the 8th 
century b. c, shortly before the time of Nebuchadnezzar, under whom 
it became the capital of an extensive monarchy. The Chasdim (descend- 
ants of Cush) who still remained, were known as the Chaldeans, pro- 
bably a caste of priests, renowned for their scientific attainments. 

CHINA. 

Fohi. — Thougii it is difficult to assign a fixed epoch for the com- 
mencement of Chinese history, we must reject the exaggerated state- 
ments which give a duration to the empire of nearly 280,000 years. It 
is probable that the Eastern parts of Asia were visited early, and that 
the immediate posterity of Noah descended from the centra] mountains 
to those fertile plains which are traversed from west to east by the 
Hoang-Ho and the Kiang, and laid the foundations of a regular society 
undeAhe celebrated Fohi, 2207. By him the people were divided into 
a hundred families, each having, as at present, a particular name; the 
sacred rites of marriage were enforced ; the land was cultivated, cattle 
bred, and metals forged. He died in the 115th year of his reign. 

The existence of Fohi, and the chronological list of his successors given by 
Chinese writers down to the third century b. c. are questioned by the critics 
of modern days, who treat as fables every thing that is transmitted in the 
national annals before that period. Fohi is supposed by some to be only 
another name for Noah. 

Formation of Nations. 

All the various races that people the earth's surface spring from the three 
sons of Noah, and are divided into three corresponding branches. 

I. Japhet may be regarded as the parent of the White or Caucasian branch, 
which spread over most part of Europe, S. Asia, and N. Africa. It admits of 
three subdivisions : — 

a. — The Arameans, a race dwelling between the Euphrates and the Medi- 
terranean, including the Arabs, Egyptians, and Abyssinians ; 

b. — Indians. Pelasgians, and Germans, from whom are descended the 
inhabitants of India, and of great part of Europe ; 

c. — Scythians and Tartars, or the people bordering on the Caspian Sea, 
among whom are the Turks, Hungarians, and Finns. 

II. Shem is the parent stock of the tawny, olive, or Mongol race, which 
admits of six divisions: — 

a. — The Mantchoos in Central Asia ; 

b. — The Chinese in China and Japan ; 

r. — The Hyperboreans, who peopled the extreme north of Europe, Asia, and 
America, such as the Laplanders, Samoeids and Esquimaux. 

d. — The Malays in Malacca, and those islands comprehended in the term 
Malasia. the chief of which are Sumatra. Borneo, and Celebes. 

e. — The Ocea?iians, differing little from the preceding, inhabit the numerous 
small islands lying in a S. E. direction between Japan and the equator, with 
New Zealand, the Sandwich, and the Society Islands. 

/. — Americans, or copper coloured Indians, who composed the primitive 
population of the New World. 

III. Ham was the father of the black race, which may be subdivided into,- 
a. — The Ethiopians in Central Africa ; 

b.— -The Caff res on the south-eastern coast , 
c The Hottentots of the South of Africa. 



TWENTY-SECOND CENTURY B. C 17 

Both tradition and history point to the remote East as the storehouse of the 
human race. From the table-land in the vicinity of Balkh, in more recent 
times, issued the Huns, Avars, Magyars, Mongols, and Turks ; and modern 
researches derive the Hindoos from the same locality. 

Traces of three primeval languages may also be found : — 1. The Arabic or 
Chaldee, from which spring the dialects used by the Assyrians, Arabs, and 
Jews:— 2. From the Sanscrit, radically different 'from the Arabic, spring the 
Greek, Latin, and Celtic dialects, the Persian, Armenian, and old Egyptian : 
— 3. From the Slavonic or Tartarian, essentially different from the two pre- 
ceding, are formed the various dialects of northern Asia and north-eastern 
Europe. The Hindoos preserve a tradition that there were originally eighteen 
languages. 

Modern naturalists, confining their view to the animal nature of man and 
taking no account of language or of the minor and superficial varieties in the 
exterior, admit at present of Jive races: — Caucasian, Negro, Tartar, American, 
Malay. 

Consult : Buffon's Natural History, vol. i. 



TWENTY-SECOND CENTURY. 

Egypt. — 2188, Menes — Beginning of Genuine History. 
Preliminary Observations. 

Great obscurity covers the early part of Egyptian history ; the account 
given by Moses has reference merely to his own age ; and the information 
derived from Herodotus, Manetho, and others, tends rather to confuse than 
enlighten us. The sacred island of Meroe, formed by the confluence of the 
Astaboras and the Astapus (the Tacazze and the Blue River) with the Nile, 
appears to have been the centre of commercial and religious resort. Thence 
the primitive civilizers of mankind, bearing with them the worship of Ammon 
and Osiris, the arts of life, the habits of trade, and, above all, the science and 
implements of agriculture, gradually spread their industrious colonies down the 
Nile. In some parts they found a rude race already settled (probably some 
pastoral Arab tribes who had come round by the way of the isthmus), and over 
whom they assumed the ascendant of superior civilisation, and formed a higher 
caste. At an early period the mountains which skirt the fertile plains of Thebes, 
were excavated into dwellings for themselves and their gods; whence, gra- 
dually spreading over the intervening plain, they laid the foundations of the 
" hundred-gated city." Sacerdotal colonies, forming separate nomes, gradually 
fixed themselves in all places suited for agriculture or traffic ; the temple, col- 
lege, and mart, became a new city, and perhaps a kingdom. Almost every 
ancient city bore the name of its god, as Diospolis (Thebes), Heliopolis (On), 
Hephaistopolis (Memphis), and many others. 

Menes. — Egyptian history, properly so called, begins with this sove- 
reign, when the sacerdotal form of government was changed into the 
monarchical, or the reign of the gods gave way to that of men. This 
first mortal king has been identified by many chronologers, on insuffi- 
cient grounds, with the Mizraim of the Scriptures. Others have sup- 
posed him to be the same as Osiris, Osymandyas, Uchoreus, and Mreris 
Of Menes or of his age we have only a few vague traditions. Herodotus 
ascribes to him the construction of a vast dam or mound, by which the 
course of the Nile was altered and confined and Memphis secured against 
inundation. Diodorus says that he taught the people to worship the 
gods and offer sacrifice, and that he introduced luxury and a sumptuous* 
style of living. From Menes, to Mocris in the eighteenth dynastv, there 
2* 



]8 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

is a wide chasm, feebly supplied by the scattered notices in the Penta- 
teuch. The priests read to Herodotus a fabulous roll of 330 inglorious 
monarchs, eighteen of whom were Ethiopians, with one queen, named 
Nitocris. 

Religion. — The main doctrine of the Egyptian religion was the transmigra- 
tions of souls to an inferior or superior state of being, according as a man 
pursued vice or virtue during his life. The. principal divinities of Egypt were 
Kneph, the creator of the universe, represented under the figure of a serpent ; 
Phtha, the vivifying power of nature, whom, owing to his symbol, fire, the 
Greeks confounded with Vulcan; Osiris, or the Sun; and Isis, or the Moon. 
The heavenly bodies were regarded as the great causes of nutrition and genera- 
tion. Terrestrial and mortal divinities were also worshipped, many of whom 
had been kings, and were, thus honoured as gods, for the benefits they conferred 
on their subjects during life. Baby or Typhon was detested as the murderer 
of Osiris and the scourge of his family and nation. Horus, Thoth, Serapis, and 
Anubis were other of their deities. The religious extravagance of the Egyp- 
tians accorded divine honours to many animals and vegetables. Cats were held 
especially sacred, and their death was mourned by shaving the eyebrows. The 
preservation of this animal during a conflagration was of more importance than 
that of a house ; and for having killed one undesignedly, a soldier in the army 
of Antony was torn in pieces by the enraged multitude. The bull Apis was 
worshipped in a magnificent temple, and by the noblest priests. His death was 
considered a national calamity, and the installation of his successor at Memphis 
was a universal holiday. By their long residence in Egypt the Israelites had 
gradually acquired many of the religious notions peculiar to the country ; hence 
the molten calf set up in the desert, and the golden calves worshipped at Bethel 
and Dan, under Jeroboam, were representations of the Egyptian Apis. 

Government. — The 30.000 years of the reign of the Sun, the 3984 of the 
twelve gods, and 217 of the demigods, are either an allegory or an astronomical 
problem converted into history. The earliest form of government of which we 
can speak with any certainty was sacerdotal, which was followed by the regal. 
The population was divided into castes, as in Hindostan at the present day ; the 
priesthood were in the first rank, the soldiers in the second, then followed the 
nusbandmen, traders, and artificers ; sailors and shepherds formed the lowest. 
The country was originally divided into nomes or districts, each so distinguished 
from the others by various local usages and objects of worship, as to lead to the 
conjecture that they once formed permanent and independent states. The four 
principal dynasties were those of Tanis, Memphis, Thebes, and This. 

Arts and Sciences. — The Egyptians, at an early period, had made astonish- 
ing progress in certain sciences. The contention of the necromancers with 
Moses shows the great advances they had made in natural magic, — namely, 
physics and chemistry. Geometry was rendered necessary by the destruction 
of the landmarks in the annual inundation of the Nile. Architecture was car- 
ried to great perfection ; the construction of the arch was not unknown, and 
Mr. (now Sir J. G.) Wilkinson places its introduction so far back as 1540 b. c, 
coeval with the eighteenth dynasty ; and the stupendous pyramids, while they 
astonish the traveller by their magnitude, attest the astronomical skill of their 
1 uilders. Each side of the base of the great pyramid, multiplied by 500, pro- 
duces a geographical degree. Some writers are of opinion that these monu- 
ments were built before the Flood. It is not improbable that they were erected 
:p gratify the pride, or satisfy the superstition of the Egyptian monarchs. The 
temples and palaces of Thebes are colossal, but ill proportioned ; the ground is 
in many places strewed with massy obelisks formed of a single stone ; and 
avenues of sphinxes still direct to the centre of religious worship. The walls 
and ceilings of public and private buildings are covered with paintings, as fresh 
as when first executed; but the four simple and unmixed colours which are 
used declare the infancy of the art. 

Hieroglyphics. — The sanguine anticipations of the learned appear to be dis- 
appointed by the meagre results obtained from deciphering the Egyptian writ- 
ings, whether on stone or papyrus. The hieroglyphs (sacred engraved characters; 



TWENTIETH CENTURY B. C. 19 

are a kind of allegorical picture-writing, in which the signs borrowed from natural 
objects serve partly to represent sounds, and partly to express ideas. There 
are two other species of writing : — the hieratic, confined to the priests ; and the 
demotic, used in common life — both apparently running hands derived from the 
hieroglyphic system. 



TWENTIETH CENTURY. 



9 
Sacred History. — 1921, Call of Abraham — Destruction of Sodom.- 

1968, Ninus supposed to reign in Assyria. 



Abraham, of the race of Shem, was born in Ur of the Chaldees. 
Although connected with the idolatrous fire-worship of his native coun- 
try, he possessed some knowledge of the true God, for he obeyed the 
divine command without hesitation, and moved westward to Haran, that 
Charr© famous for the defeat and death of Crassus. Passing- the 
Euphrates, he at last, after various wanderings, settled in the Promised 
Land. The kings of the Pentapolis having revolted against Chedor- 
laomer, king of Elam (Elymais,) that monarch was obliged to take up 
arms against them, in order to preserve the fidelity of the adjoining 
states He defeated the allied army and captured Lot, the nephew of 
Abraham, by whom he was shortly after rescued, 1913. Returning 
from his victory over the Elamites, he was met by Melchizedek king of 
Salem, priest of the Most High, who blessed him and received in return 
a tithe of the spoil, as an offering to the God who had crowned the 
undertaking with success. But the piety of the patriarch was unable to 
avert the destruction of the Cities of the Plain, 1897. Jehovah rained 
down fire and brimstone from heaven, and the Dead Sea now covers the 
ruins of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim. On the birth of 
Isaac (1896,) the mother urged Abraham to drive out Hagar with the 
child Ishmael, which she had born him, lest he should share the paternal 
heritage. The two exiles retired to the desert, where the youth married 
an Egyptian woman, and his descendants are, to this day, a living wit- 
ness to the truth of the prophecy of the angel, — he will be a wild man, 
his hand will be against every man, and every mail's hand against him, — 
Persians, Greeks and Romans, Mongols and Tartars, having vainly 
endeavoured to subdue them. The Hejazite kings of Arabia, to whose 
dynasty Mohammed belonged, reckon the son of Hagar among their 
ancestors. 

When Isaac was little more than twenty years of age, God demanded 
him as a burnt-sacrifice ; but the faith of the patriarch prevented the 
consummation of the painful duty, and the covenant made before Abra- 
ham quitted Chaldea was renewed in stronger terms, 1872. This father 
of the faithful expired at the age of 175, b. c. 1821, leaving behind him 
a numerous family. Besides the Israelites and Ishmaelites, he was, by 
his second wife Keturah, the ancestor of the Midianites and several 
other Arab tribes. 



20 ANCIENT HISTORY. 



Character of Abraham. 

In whatever light we view the patriarch, we remark traits of grandeur that 
place him beside the great heroes of antiquity. He was a despotic king over 
his descendants and slaves, without the inconvenient title and ceremonies. 
Princes sought his alliance, as their equal ; like a modern sheik, he made peace 
or war as he pleased. Possessing countless herds, the only riches of the age, 
he lived in abundance, rejecting all presents, lest any should boast that he had 
enriched himself by them. As a religious man, he had the most implicit con- 
fidence in the promises of God, and was always resigned to his commands, 
even to the sacrifice of his only son. As soon as the Almighty spoke, he 
believed against all appearances, hoped even against hope, and obeyed in spite 
of the strongest affections of our nature. He was a man of divine mould, the 
model as well as the father of all true believers. 



NINETEENTH CENTURY. 

Egypt. — Invasion of the Shepherds. 
Greece. — 1856, Kingdom of Argos founded by Inachus. 

Shepherd Kings. — The invasion of the Hyksos or Shephera Kings 
is an event of great importance in Egyptian history, but much uncer- 
tainty exists as to the period when it took place. We learn that, in the 
reign of Timaos (Thammuz), Egypt was invaded by a pastoral tribe, 
who, after subduing the lower country, extended their ravages to the 
Thebais, which, however, they could not reduce, and where a native 
dynasty long continued to reign. They are said to have made Memphis 
their capital, and to have established a fortified camp at Abaris (Pelu- 
sium,) in the iSaitic nome, where they stationed 240,000 men. These 
invaders are represented on the monuments with tattooed limbs and skin 
garments, and as preserving their wild habits and rudeness until their 
expulsion. This event took place under the first of the eighteenth 
dynasty of Thebes, 260 years after the inroad. Amosis, or Thoutmosis, 
raised the country from its prostrate state, and formed one compact king- 
dom with Thebes for its capital. 

This period of Egyptian history is greatly confused, as much from the want 
of information as from contradictory accounts. Heeren places the Shepherd 
dominion between 1800 and 1600 B. G. contemporary with Moses and the 
Exodus ; he also supposes a number of successive invasions. Dr. Hales 
assigns 2159 B. c. for the epoch of the Pastoral Kings, and supposes them to 
have been expelled about 27 years before the commencement of Joseph's 
administration. The authors of the Universal History, following Josephus, 
give a duration of more than 500 years to this dynasty. Rollin places them 
between 2084 and 1825 b. c, and makes Abraham visit Egypt under one of 
these foreign kings. The Jewish annalist maintains that these exterminating 
invaders are merely the 70 peaceful members who formed the family of his 
ancestor Jacob. The red hair and blue eyes of the Hyksos seem to indicate 
» northern and probably a Scythian origin ; they certainly have nothing of the 
Arabian character. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY B. C. 21 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 



Sacred History. — 1837, 6. Esau and Jacob — 1728, Joseph in Egypt. — 

1706, Israelites settled in Goshen. 

Egypt. — Foreign Intercourse. 

Sacred History. 

The life of Isaac was not eventful. He dwelt within the borders of 
the Promised Land, where he practised agriculture, and became so 
wealthy as to excite the jealousy of the neighbouring princes. By his 
prudence he averted the calamities of war, and renewed the treaty that 
had been concluded between his father and Abimelech. His two sons, 
Esau and Jacob, were men of different characters : the elder applied 
himself to the cultivation of the soil, and by the active pleasures of the 
chase acquired a hardy frame of body ; Jacob, on account of his mild 
and peaceful manners, was the object of his mother's peculiar affection. 
The latter defrauded Esau of his father's benediction, and was obliged 
to flee from his just resentment. In his journey toward Mesopotamia, 
1760, he was visited by God in his sleep, who promised him a numerous 
posterity, as well as the possession of the land of Canaan. On the 
death of Isaac, at the age of 180 years, the two brothers divided the 
inheritance; the younger remained in the land of Canaan, while the 
other returned to the country which had derived from him the name of 
Edoin (red.) His numerous posterity occupied that part of Idumea 
called dmalekiiis, from a descendant of Ham, or, according to some, from 
Amalek, the grandson of Esau. 

Joseph. — The twelve sons of Jacob did not all imitate the piety of 
their father. One of the number, Joseph, became the victim of their 
jealousy, and at the age of seventeen w r as sold by them to a caravan of 
Ishmaelites who were on their way to Egypt, 1728. Here he speedily 
rose to honour, became the minister of Thoutmosis, the reigning pharaoh, 
and by his foresight he preserved the country from famine during seven 
years of sterility. He strengthened the royal power, and secured the 
comforts of the people, by establishing a fixed land-tax or rent of one- 
fifth of the produce instead of the previous arbitrary exactions. His 
own influence was confirmed by a marriage with the daughter of the 
priest of On ; and the government, which had been theocratic and mili- 
tary, now became entirely sacerdotal. Jacob, with all his family, were 
soon after settled in the land of Goshen, 1706, which not only afforded 
excellent pasture, but was separated by its remoteness from the Egyp- 
tians, who had recently suffered too much from the Shepherd Kings to 
associate readily with those who followed the same occupation. By this 
means also the exposed frontier was confided to the protection of a hardy 
and warlike race. 

EGYPT. 

The state of Memphis, in which Joseph resided, comprised at this 
period Middle and Lower Egypt ; and the Mosaic records prove that it 
contained a brilliant court, with its castes of priests and warriors. 
Thoutmosis reigned twenty-five years after the expulsion of the Shep- 



22 AKCIENT HISTORY. 

herd dynasty. Among his successors is reckoned Mceris, who is said to 
have excavated the great lake which hears his name. 

This century witnessed the first communication between the Hebrews, 
Greeks, and Egyptians. Joseph and the twelve patriarchs on the one 
side, a King of Thessaly and the Titans on the other, sought an asylum 
in Egypt. The Israelites were then a mere nomad tribe, like the Arabs 
at the present day ; the Greeks were Scythians or Pelasgians ; both 
were new people: while the Chaldeans, the Sidonians, and the Egyp- 
tians, were skilled in astronomy and navigation, and learned in theology, 
morals, politics, the art of war, and maritime commerce. During their 
stay in Egypt, the Greeks and Hebrews derived from a common source 
their first learning, subject to the various influences of the climate and 
superstitions of the countries to which they removed. 

Read : Russel's Ancient and Modern Egypt in the Edinburgh Cabinet 
Library, and Wilkinson's Manners of the Egyptians. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 

Sacred History. — 1635, Death of Joseph. 
Greece. — The Pelasgi— Sicyon. 

Sacred History. 

The settlement of the Jewish people in Egypt tended in some degree 
to recall them from their nomad state. The patriarch Jacob lived only 
seventeen years to enjoy the presence of his son Joseph, and witness the 
happiness of his family. He died in 1689 b. c, at the age of 147, 
blessing his children, and foretelling the birth of the Messiah from the 
race of Judah. His favourite son survived fifty-four years, and saw his 
descendants in the fourth generation. He expired in 1635, regretted by 
all Egypt, and with him terminates the history of the book of Genesis, 
containing a period of 2369 years. In the division of the Promised 
Land, Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of this patriarch, ranked as 
heads of tribes, on an equality with the eleven sons of Jacob. 

GREECE. 

Origin of the Greek Nations* 
The first settlers of Greece were Ionians, a Pelasgic race, who derived 
their name from Javan (Heb. Ion,) son of Japhet. He is mentioned in 
Genesis as among those by whom the isles of the Gentiles were divided 
in their lands, and Greece is called Javan several times in the sacred 
Scriptures. The Hellenes, if not an offshoot of the Pelasgians, were 
also of eastern origin, and by these two were the different states of the 
Archipelago originally formed. There was also a continual influx ol 
the wandering hordes of the north. Scythia then, as in latter times, 
supplied abundant streams of barbarians, who sought a milder climate 
and a i ■ re fertile soil than their own. These nomad tribes, like the 
Indians of America, subsisted on the produce of the chase or the wild 
fruits of the woods ; but we are entirely ignorant of their history, man- 
ners, and religion. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY B. C. 23 

The Pelasgians have left an imperishable record in the numerous 
•uildings that bear their name. In the ruins of the fortifications of 
Lycosura we see all that remains of the oldest Greek city. Their ma- 
sonry was polygonal, each stone fitting into the other without cement. 
The Cyclopean walls, often confounded with the Pelasgic, are at least 
four or five centuries later. 

While these primitive tribes remained in a savage state of ignorance, 
the arts and sciences were advancing to perfection in the East. The 
troubles in Egypt, consequent upon the invasion of the shepherd races, 
compelled great numbers to seek peace and tranquillity beyond the sea, 
and by them settlements were formed in Peloponnesus and Northern 
Greece. Their knowledge was communicated by degrees to the inhab- 
itants of the country, who at last were civilized. The first care of Ina- 
chus, who arrived in Argolis about 1856 b. c, was to raise a temple to 
Apollo on Mount Lycaon. Cecrops, from the name of Sais, pursued a 
similar course in order to reclaim the uncivilized inhabitants of Attica, 
1556.* 

Although many of the primitive Greeks had withdrawn into the 
mountains of Arcadia, as the ancient Britons retired into the fastnesses 
of Wales, yet they generally adopted the Egyptian laws and institu- 
tions, which they cherished and long preserved with devoted constancy. 
The paintings still seen on the Egyptian monuments (see Rosellini) form 
a complete illustration of the Works and Days of Hesiod. 

The Phoenicians were the next colonists, but with a different object. 
Their vessels infested the Grecian coasts, ravaging and plundering the 
adjacent towns, and carrying the inhabitants into slavery. Their very 
name, among the early Greeks, like the Punic faith of the Romans, was 
expressive of fraud, deceit, and treachery. 

Consult: Thirlwall's Hist. Greece, vol. i. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopadia. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

Sacred History.— 1581, Birth of Moses — Job. 
Greece. — 1556, Cecrops — Deluge of Deucalion — Amphictyonic Council. 

Sacred History. 

Moses. — After the death of Joseph in 1635, the Israelites increased so 
rapidly in numbers and in strength as to excite the fears of the reigning 
monarch. The ordinary modes of diminishing the population proving 
inefficient, the pharaoh commanded all the male children to be slain as 
soon as born. The affection of Jochebed preserved her son Moses for 
three months, when the fear of discovery at last compelled her to expose 
him on the banks of the Nile, 1571. Here he was providentially seen 

* The reign of Cecrops is the first epoch, 1581, in the Arundelian (or Parian) marbles. 
These are an Athenian chronicle, graven on marble in Greek capitals, found at the be- 
ginning of the 17th century in the island of Paros, one of the Cyclades, and transported 
to England by Thomas earl of Arundel, whose grandson presented them to the Univer. 
sity of Oxford. The chronicle, the authenticity of which now begins to be questioned, 
was engraved 2G4 b. c, It has been frequpntly printed. 



24 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

and rescued by the king's daughter, Therm utis, who brought him up as 
her own child, and educated him in all the learning of her country. 
Having slain an Egyptian who was maltreating a Hebrew, he was 
compefled to flee for refuge into the land of Midian, near the Red Sea, 
1531 b.c, where he resided forty years. While tending the flocks of 
Jethro, his father-in-law, in the desert, he received a summons from the 
Almighty to return into Egypt, and lead his chosen people from their 
land of bondage, 1491 b.c. 

Job. — This patriarch, whose name has become a synonym with 
patience, was born and dwelt in the land of Idumea (Uz.) Reduced to 
extreme poverty, bereft of all his children in one day, his body covered 
with sores, and lying on a dunghill, he still put his confidence in God. 
Virtue so great could not fail to meet with its reward ; hence his tem- 
poral blessings were restored tenfold, and he ended his life in peace and 
tranquillity. Following the Bible chronology, we have placed the epoch 
of Job, 1520 b. c, much later than the internal evidence seems to justify. 
Some make the Idumeans who plundered him to be the Hyksos on their 
way to Egypt. Dr. Hales, and Dr. Brinkley the late bishop of Cloyne, 
give the date of 2337 b. c. Ducoutant places him in 2136 b. c, while 
the learned authors of VJirt de verifier les Dates make him flourish 
between 1725 and 1685 b. c. ; others bring him lower still, even to 
894 b. c. 

Consult: Wemyss' Job and his Times and Russell's Connection of Sacred 
and Profane History, vols i. & hi. 

GREECE. 

While Argolis advanced in civilization under the family of Inachus, 
Phegae in Arcadia, Mycense in Argolis, and Sparta, were founded by the 
chiefs whose names they bear. In the space of 313 years, four colonies 
were established in Thessaly and Arcadia, by three different princes 
known by the same apellation, Pelasgus. The first dynasty of the 
Shepherd Kings of Egypt becoming extinct in the person of their sixth 
monarch, the changes which ensued gave birth to many emigrations, 
among others to that of Ogyges, in whose reign over Attica and Boeotia, 
the lake Copais burst its banks and destroyed two cities which this 
monarch had founded near its shores. The remote period, however, at 
which this event took place, has caused all the traditions of the primi- 
tive ages of Greece to be distinguished by the term Ogygian. In the 
time of Sylla, a festival was still celebrated at Athens commemorative 
of the catastrophe. Somewhat later occurred the deluge of Deucalion, 
which appears to have been confined to Thessaly, and to have been 
caused by a convulsion of the earth which stopped up the course 
of the Peneus, as it flowed between Olympus and Ossa, 1529 b. c. The 
same flood drove the Hellenes from Phocis, whence passing into Thes- 
saly, they expelled the Pelasgi, and afterwards spread through all 
Greece. 

Amphictvon. — In 1521 b.c, Amphictyon, the son of Deucalion, 
established the celebrated council which bears his name, — an institution 
not unlike the modern German Diet, — by which the various Hellenic 
states of Greece were united in the bonds of a common alliance, for tbn 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY B. C. 25 

purpose of protecting their general interests and guarding against foreign 
invasion. The several deputies bound themselves by oath never to 
overthrow any of the allied cities, nor to turn aside the running streams, 
either in peace or in war; and to oppose to the utmost any nation that 
dared to attempt such things. Their places of meeting were Thermo- 
pylae and Delphi. To Acrisius, sovereign of Argos, is ascribed the 
formation of its power and laws. The most celebrated exertion of 
authority on the part of the council respected the town of Crissa, against 
which it declared war. Hostilities were protracted for more than ten 
years, when, principally by the advice of Solon, the place was reduced, 
and the surrounding territory consecrated to the god of the Delphic 
temple, 595 b. c. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 

Sacred History.— 1491, Exodus — 1451, Entry into Canaan. 
Egypt. — 1473, Conquests of Sesostris. 
Phoenicia. — Foreign Discovery and Trade. 
I Greece -Theseus — Court of Areopagus. — 1493, Thebes; 1490, Sparta; 
4 1404, Corinth Founded. 

*i Sacred History. 

I The Exodus. — Moses, after some, hesitation to obey the divine com- 
mands, went with his brother Aaron to the court of Pharaoh, to deliver 
the solemn embassy of the Almighty. The monarch (Amenophis) in 
. return, added to the sufferings of the Israelites ; nor did he cease to 
1 afflict them until the ten plagues had wearied, though not convinced his 
haughty spirit. On the 15th Nisan, the Hebrew nation began their 
joyful march towards the Red Sea, 1491 b. c, each tribe in its proper 
i station, advancing in battle-array. Scarcely had they begun their long 
journey, when the monarch repented his weakness, and hastily pursuing 
with a numerous army, overtook them in a narrow defile which opens 
upon the Arabian Gulf. In their extremity, with the sea before them 
and implacable enemies behind, the people began to murmur, saying, 
i were there no grazes in Egypt, that thou hast taken us away to die in the 
: wilderness ? But Jehovah meditated a signal deliverance : the sea divi- 
, ded its w>ves before them ; they passed through dryshod ; while the 
returning waters buried Pharaoh's host, so that none remained to tell 
the dreadful tale. In the space of 215 years, God had so favoured the 

I descendants of Abraham, that from about 70 persons, the family of 
Jacob had increased to 600,000 fighting men, or a gross population of 
more than two millions. 

The Wandering. — The whole period of forty years spent in the 
desert was signalized by miracles. A deficiency of bread was made up 
by the manna which lay on the ground covered with the morning 
dew, — the bitter waters were purified, — a flight of quails furnished the 
people with meat, — the hard rock, at the touch of Moses' rod, gave 
forth a clear and copious stream of water, the earth opened and swal- 
lowed up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, 1471, — fire from heaven de- 
stroyed part of the camp., — and a destructive pestilence carried off nearly 
3 



26 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

15,000 of the murmurers. Three months after the departure from 
Egypt, the God of Jacob appeared on mount Sinai,"* and, clothed in 
majesty, made known the law of the two tables, comprehending the ten 
commandments. Being unwilling to trust the report of the spies whom 
Moses had sent to view the Land of Promise, the Israelites were all 
condemned to perish in the desert, with the exception of Joshua and 
Caleb, and those who had not yet reached the age of twenty years. 
In vain did Moab and Midian unite against them, — in vain did the 
hostile nations seek the aid and purchase the imprecations of Balaam : 
his curses were converted into blessings. After forty years, their wan- 
derings drew to an end. Moses assembled the tribes ; committed the 
Book of the Law to the priests ; and for the last time publicly addressed 
the people. When his exhortation was concluded, he went to the top 
of Mount Pisgah (ten miles north-east of the Dead Sea,) and there died 
in sight of the promised inheritance, 1451 b. c. 

Character of Moses. 

Considered in a merely human light, Moses is not less celebrated as a poli- 
tician than as a historian and poet. Pagan antiquity, while denying his divine 
mission, has represented him as a man of profound learning, who rescued the 
Jews from debasement and slavery, and taught them the knowledge of the one 
true God. The five books of the Pentateuch are the most ancient writings in 
the world, and no history presents a stronger character of authenticity. His 
legislation was promulgated at a time when the word law was unknown to 
other nations. This code has been divided into five parts : namely, religion, 
morals, and civil, military, and political affairs. Its real wisdom is proved by 
its existing still at the end of forty centuries, while the more recent institutes 
of Minos, Lycurgus, Numa, and Solon have fallen into desuetude. 

It is worth while to observe what progress the arts had made, even among 
the nomad Jews, while Greece was yet barbarous. In the description of the 
building of the Tabernacle we read of the founding and working of metals ; of 
cutting and engraving precious stones ; of the trades of the cabinet-maker, 
embroiderer, and perfumer. 

Entry into Canaan, — 1461 b. c. — Moses, as the civil and religious 
head of the Wandering Tribes, strictly speaking had no successor. 
Joshua was appointed military leader to subdue the Land of Canaan, 
and portion it out among the victors. On the 10th Nisan, he crossed 
the frontier river, the submissive waters of the Jordan yielding a passage 
to the Ark of the Covenant which led the way. The ramparts of Jericho 
miraculously fell before them, — a warning to the devoted nations, and 
an encouragement to the Israelites. Ai was taken by stratagem ; the 
five allied kings of the xVmorites were defeated, the sun itself stopping 
in its course to aid the chosen people, while a terrible storm of hailstones 
killed more than had fallen by the sword. f Joshua now divided the 
portion of the land which he had conquered, and renewed the Covenant 
with God. The tribe of Levi, which formed a literary and wealthy 
counterpoise to the aristocratic and democratic part of the state, was not 
included in this partition, but forty-eight cities were allotted them from 



* Ancient tradition and locality seem to identify Sinai with Mount Serbnl (above 
8000 feet high), the first peak of the chain to those coming from Suez. 

t The Chinese preserve a tradition, that in the time of the Emperor Yao, whom they 
make contemporary with Joshua, the sun did not set for ten days. The Egyptian priests 
told Herodotus, that within the period of 34] generations about 11.000 years! the sun 
had deviated four times from his usual course. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY B.C. 27 

the other tribes ; a regulation, however, which circumstances prevented 
being carried into full effect. On Joshua's death, 1443 B.C., Caleb 
succeeded to the government; but the people soon after turned to the 
idols of the Canaanites, and drew down upon themselves the anger of 
God. 

The formation of the Jewish republic was the work of Moses in the desert. 
Its polity was evidently intended for a season only ; its theology was the 
simplest of the age. The unity and individuality of the Deity were acknow- 
ledged, while the absence of all direct revelation of a future state was in some 
measure compensated by blending moral precepts with ritual observances, and 
the infliction of temporal punishments for personal or national disobedience. 
All possible means were exerted to isolate the Jews from the surrounding 
nations, by prohibiting commerce, emigration, and travelling. But their 
attachment to external circumstances was so strong, that in spite of the gor- 
geous ceremonies of their own ritual, they were soon found adopting the blood- 
stained idolatry of the Canaanites or the gross superstitions of Egypt. This 
would probably not have happened if the whole of the ancient inhabitants had 
been exterminated, according to the intention of Moses, as the worship of the 
true God would have been thereby rendered the sole religion of the country. 

EGYPT. 

Sesostris. — Sesostris or Rhamses III. the Great, is the hero of early 
Egyptian history, the founder of a new dynasty (19th,) and the liberator 
of his country from the Hyksos, who had renewed their invasions in the 
reign of his father, Amenophis III. Great difference of opinion prevails 
as to the age of Sesostris, but it seems very probable that he flourished 
during the wandering of the Israelites in the desert. His conquests 
extended over Libya, Ethiopia, Media, Persia, Bactria, Scythia, and 
Asia Minor, from all which countries he levied tribute. The trophies 
of his victories, in the form of pillars, were found from the Danube to 
the Ganges, and southward to Ethiopia; and a hundred famous 
temples were raised from the spoils of his enemies. He divided 
the country into 36 nomes, at the head of which he placed officers to 
collect the taxes. He intersected the provinces with canals, and was the 
first Egyptian monarch who was powerful at sea. Becoming blind, he 
committed suicide in the 33d year of his reign. The traveller may yet 
see his names and titles, wars and triumphs, depicted on the walls of 
palaces and temples at Luxor, Karnac, Thebes, and Nubia. 

PHCENICIA. 

The name Phoenicia is applied to that narrow strip of the Syrian 
coast (150 miles long, and 24 broad,) which extends from Tyre to 
Aradus. Sidon was its oldest city, built by the eldest son of Canaan. 
The inhabitants applied themselves at an early period to commerce, 
navigation, and manufactures ; and first communicated to the people of 
the West the sciences of Asia. They visited and planted colonies on all 
the shores of the Mediterranean; ventured as far as the British Isles in 
search of tin, and navigated the Baltic to procure amber. They 
embarked at Elath to make the circumnavigation of Africa, and formed 
settlements eastward of the Persian Gulf. They seem to have disco- 
vered islands beyond the western shore of Africa. They excelled in 
the manufacture of glass, and the now forgotten art of dyeing purple 



28 ANCfiRfrT HISTORY. 

To this people is also attributed the invention of alphabetical characters, 

and their introduction into Europe. Our knowledge of their history is 

very slender, for Tyre fell before literature had taken root in the West, 

and iis writers perished with it. This city is said to have been founded 

nor, an African prince, about 1255 B.C., and its line of kings 

begins with Abical, the contemporary of David, about the year 1050. 

The prosperous period of their history extends from 1000 to 332 b. c. 

I hcenicia did not constitute one empire, but was formed of several indc- 

| i tident states, united as fear or interest prompted them; and hence 

arose the supremacy of Tyre, the most powerful of their number. 

Consult : Rollin's Ancient History. 

GREECE. 

Athens was founded by Cecrops in the 16th century, but Theseus 
formed the state by gathering together the twelve districts or boroughs, 
which had formerly been independent; by uniting their senates into one- 
body, which met at the capital ; and by establishing a common religious 
festival (Panathencea) in honour of Minerva. The court of Areopagus, 
although it has been attributed to Cecrops, was only now instituted ; a 
body not more celebrated for its antiquity, than for the justice of its 
decisions. The number of its members, who were selected on account 
of their age, merit, and birth, appears to have varied from 31 to 51, and 
even to 500. 

Thebes was built by the Phoenician Cadmus, 1493 b. c. He intro- 
duced the fifteen letters of the Grecian alphabet, which go under his 
name ; they were probably the same as those used in Syria. The 
oracle of Delphi was the work of his countrymen; and its temple, 
causing the neglect of the prophetic oak of Dodona, became a central 
point of union for the different tribes. 

History of the Greek Language. 

The ultimate root of the Greek language is Pelasgic, or a dialect closely 
allied to the Sanscrit, modified by time and the exigencies of society. The 
descendants of Hellen, the son of Deucalion, having made themselves masters 
of the country, introduced their language, which differed from the old tongue 
only by its inflections, and which became the common speech of Greece. This 
Hellenic dialect was probably a stronger, as it was also a later, mixture of the 
Japetic or Western, as the Pelasgic appears to be purer Semitic or Eastern. 

The inland inhabitants of Greece spoke the rough and broad old Doric, from 
which the language of the JEolians in Bceotia and Peloponnesus did not greatly 
differ. The progress of civilisation and commerce softened these dialects. The 
Doric was gradually refined into the beautiful language of Theocritus. The 
Ionian* from Attica settled on the coast of Asia Minor, where, by a close 
intercourse with their Asiatic neighbours, their language was softened into the 
harmonious sweetness we admire in Herodotus. The Attic passed through 
many gradations until it became the polished and elegant medium of com- 
munication adopted by all literary men throughout Greece. 

The following genealogical table of languages will serve at once to assist the 
memory, and to explain the history which the Greeks themselves credited. 
Deucalion. 

Hellen. 



Dorus. Xuthus. CEolus. 



1 



AcHiEUs. Ion. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY B. C. 29 

Dialects. 
.j rOid — Thucydides; the Tragic poets. 
r n Middle. — Aristophanes, Lycias, Fiato, Xenophon. 
< (.New. — iEschines, Demosthenes, Isocrates, Menander. 

■gfOld. — Epicharmus, Sophron. 
c "i New. — Bion, Moschus, Callimachus, Pindar, Theocritus. 

4 ("Old.— Homer, Hesiod. 
3 "2 New. — Anacreon, Herodotus, Hippocrates. 

JEolic. — Alcteus, Sappho, Corinna. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 

Judaea. — 1285, Deborah judges Israel— Sisera — 1312, Ruth. 
Greece. — Minos. 

JUD.EA. 

Judges, 1443. — After the death of Joshua, a council of judges (sho- 
phetim,) with nearly the same authority as the consuls at Rome, the 
kings at Sparta, and the Carthaginian suffetes, wis established to govern 
the people of Israel. Each city had its peculiar magistrates (shoterim) 
and ministers of justice, to the number of twenty-three. Their place 
of audience was at the gales of the cities, as being the most frequented 
spots. On Joshua's death the weak tribes became jealous of the stronger, 
and, as the high-priests had little political influence, the dread of foreign 
power alone kept them together. 

The history of Judaea, under its new government, presents a long 
catalogue of wars and captivities, brought on the nation by its wicked- 
ness and idolatry. Seven periods of servitude to the Philistines and 
others are recorded between the death of Joshua and the election of 
Saul, 1095 b. c. When Deborah judged Israel, dwelling under a palm- 
tree on Mount Ephraim, Sisera, the Canaanitish general, was put to 
death by a woman in whose tent he had sought refuge, 1285 B.C. 
This signal deliverance from a powerful enemy called forth the fine 
specimen of lyric poetry which is inserted in the Book of Judges. 

Ruth, 1312. — To this period belongs the pastoral narrative of Ruth. 
A famine dbliged Elimelech to quit Bethlehem, with his wife Naomi; 
who, becoming a widow in the country of Moab, eagerly desired to 
return to her native land. Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, who loved 
her most affectionately, followed her home ; when want compelling her 
to glean in the fields of Boaz, he, attracted by the charms and modesty 
of the fair stranger, married her, and became the father of Obed, from 
whom descended Jesse, the father of David, the royal progenitor of the 
Messiah. 

GREECE. 

Crete. — Minos, who, according to the Parian chronicle, began to 

reign 1431 b. c, about a century after Amphictyon, is regarded as the 

first legislator of the Cretans, and his laws are supposed to have been 

adopted by Lycur<nis, in framing the Spartan constitution. All freemen 

3* 



30 ANCIENT IIISTOKV. 

were equal; the land was to be cultivated by slaves ; and individual 
rights were merged in those of the community. Alinos raised a power- 
ful navy, and cleared the sea of pirates. The ancient mythology makes 
him and Rhadamanthus, also a native of Crete, judges in the Infernal 
Regions. The formation of this kingdom may be regarded as a real 
event; and the great similarity between its constitution and that of 
Judaea, may have arisen from the common intercourse of the respective 
; ; i pie with Egypt, the source of most of the earlier civilisation of Eu- 
rope. Both have the same leading principle for the preservation of 
internal tranquillity. As in Lacedamion, so also here, a people weie 
formed with military habits for defence rather than aggression; they 
kept themselves apart from other nations ; their religious ordinances 
were founded on divine order ; and the property in land was inalienable. 
Minos II., grandson of the first of that name, was the contemporary 
of Theseus, and in his reign the celebrated architect Dedalus constructed 
the labyrinth of Crete. This extraordinary work was used as a prison 
for the Athenian hostages, and. for the Minotaur, a fabulous monster, 
half-man half-bull. This king, who is often confounded with his 
ancestor, the lawgiver, died in Sicily (1320 b. c.,) being suffocated in 
a bath. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 



Judjea.— 1249, Gideon Judge.— J.235, Jotham's Parable. 

Greece. — Pelopidae. — 126? Argonauts — Theseus. — 1230, Ninus founds the 

Assyrian Empire (Herodotus.) 

JUD.EA. 

This country was again under the iron rod of the oppressor, when 
Gideon, with a chosen band of 300 men, defeated a numerous army of 
Midianites by a most remarkable stratagem, 1245 b. c. During forty 
years he judged Israel, and at his death was succeeded by a natural son, 
Abimelech, who murdered his legitimate brothers, 1235. Jotham alone 
of seventy escaped, and he indignantly upbraided the ungrateful She- 
chemites by the beautiful apologue of the trees choosing a king — the most 
ancient parable extant. 

GREECE. 

PelopidjE. — Corinth is said to have been built by Sisyphus, " the 
crafty of men," 1404 B.C., whose descendants were driven from 
the throne by the Pelopidae. These usurpers were the family of Pe lops, 
sr ii of Tantalus, who had quitted Asia, and settled in Southern Greece, 
w hich afterwards bore his name. His sons Atreus and Thyestes were 
hot< (1 for their cruelties and the misfortunes of their children. 

Argonauts, 1263 b. c. — These were a compan) r of knight-errants 
(for this was the age of Chivalry in Greece.) who, under the guidance 
of the Thessalian Jason, braved the dangers of the Symplegades and 
the tempests of the inhospitable Euxine in search of the Golden Fleece. 
Castor, Pollux, Orpheus, Hercules, Pcleus, and Laertes, were among 
the number of these daring adventurers. Divested of the fictitious 



TWELFTH CENTURY B. C. 31 

colouring of the poets, this expedition was probably a commercial 
enterprise to the shores of Colchis for the purpose of turning the profits 
of its woollen trade to their native country.* 

The conquests of Hercules, and the travels of Theseus and Perseus, 
belong to this period ; whence also may be dated the close connexion 
in language, religion, manners and consanguinity, which appears to 
have existed betweeen the heroes engaged in the Trojan war, whether 
of Asiatic or of European descent. 

Theseus was one of the greatest kings of the heroic age, and the 
national champion of Athens. With his reign the history of Attica 
begins to lose much of its mythic character. He was considered the 
founder of the Athenian constitution, and the introducer of the democratic 
form of government ; but the satisfaction given by the measures which 
he pursued for establishing a popular constitution, was not very perma- 
nent. A strong party, headed by Menestheus, was formed against him 
on the pretext that he did not go far enough, when he was driven into 
sxile by the fickle people, as were many of his successors, who became 
eminent for virtue or talent. f His policy was to destroy the magistrates 
and courts of justice of the separate Attic towns, and centralize them in 
the capital. Menestheus, of the royal race, proposed to take away the 
administration of justice from the nobles and to confer it on the popu- 
lace, making it in their hands a stipendiary duty. — Theseus is said to 
have given shelter to the descendants of Hercules, who had been 
expelled from the Peloponnesus ; and about the same period the crimes 
of (Edipus led" to the celebrated war of the Seven Chiefs against Thebes, 
and also to that of the Epigoni, or Descendants, about 1225 b. c. 

Consult: Bulwer's Athens, book i. chap. iii. Plutarch's Life of Theseus. 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 

Jud.ea'.— 1188, Jephtha's Vow.— 1117, Death of Samson. 

Greece. — 1184, Siege of Troy — Grecian Mythology — Greek Colonies. 

Inventions, &c. — Mariner's Compass in China — Buodhism Introduced in 

India. 

JVDJEA. 

Jephtha. — Judaea, in 1188, b. c, was called to witness a remarkable 
sacrifice. Jephtha, who had been driven from Gilead by the violence 

* M. Rabaut de St. Etienne ingeniously endeavours to explain these heroic allegories 
by showing that they were intended to represent the motions of the heavenly bodies. 
Thus the Argonautic expedition exhibits the course of the constellation Aries through 
the sky. Jason is Serpentarius. Scarcely has the Ship Argo begun her ethereal voyaare, 
when Ilylas, Aquarius, disappears, and Hercules follows him. All the crew of Jason 
claim their share in this astronomical voyage. 

f Theseus died and was buried in the island of Scyrns. At a later period his supposed 
remains were transported with great pomp to Athens, in the galley of Cimon, and wel- 
comed " as if the living Theseus were come a^ain." Games were instituted in honour 
of the event, 4(59, at which took place those poetical contests, in the first of which 
Sophocles carried off the prize from ^Eschyltis. Mr. Fynes Clinton places the Argonautic 
expedition in 1225, sixteen years before the death of Hercules. This remarkable voyage 
has been sung by two Greek poets : Apollodorns of Rhodes, and another of uncertain 
name and age, who brings the heroes to the neighbourhood of the British Isles. 



32 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

of his relatives, and put himself at the head of a band of robbers, vowed 
that if he returned successful from a certain expedition against the 
Ammonites, he would offer up, as a burnt-sacrifice, the first living being 
that met him on his return. This was his daughter, his only child, who 
came out to congratulate her parent on his safety. After a short respite 
she resolutely yielden herself a victim to her father's rashness. This 
event occupies a prominent place in Grecian story. The resemblance 
between Iphigenia and Jephthagenia (Jephtha's daughter) is very 
striking. 

Samson. — During the period of the seventh servitude, which lasted 
forty years, a new deliverer appeared in the son of Manoah, of the tribe 
of Dan. By the command of the angel who foretold his birth, he was 
specially consecrated to the Lord. As he grew in years, he increased 
in strength ; and in various encounters he slew an immense number of 
Philistines, but fell at last by the artifices of Delilah. During his sleep, 
the locks on which his strength depended were shorn, and he awoke 
weak as another man. He again recovered vigour upon the growth of 
his hair, and proved his renewed powers by tearing down the two 
pillars which supported the roof of a temple, and burying 3000 Philis- 
tines, with himself, in one undistinguished ruin, 1117 b. c. 

The accounts of Hercules, Rustam in Persia, and Antar in Arabia, seem 
based on that of Samson. Ancient traditions furnish us with many curious 
coincidences with the history of Samson's locks. 

Read : Milton's Samson Agonistes. 

GREECE. 

Trojan War. — The history of Troy, a name rendered familiar to all 
by the genius of Homer, is so intermingled with fable, and its heroes 
are so confounded with gods and demigods, that it is not possible to 
arrive at historical truth. Mount Ida was the scene of the Judgment of 
Paris ; the loves of Hero and Leander consecrated the promontories of 
Sestos and Abydos; the little streams of Simois and Scamander would 
have been unknown but for the combats of the Greeks. Teucer was the 
first king; he was succeeded by Dardanus, who brought the palladium 
from Samothrace. The last monarch was Priam, the richest and greatest 
potentate of Western Asia, his rule extending over several contiguous 
nations, as well as the coast of Thrace, and the confines of Thessaly. 
Irodioies attended the birth of his youngest son, Paris; his youth and 
manhood were equally eventful. During his travels he eloped with 
Helen, the most beautiful woman of the age. Her husband, Menelaus, 
roused all Greece in arms to avenge the violated rites of hospitality, and 
a fleet of 1200 ships set out for Troy. This town, seated on a gentle 
eminence at the foot of Ida, overlooking the Hellespont, resisted the 
efforts of the numerous besiegers during the long period of ten years. 
At length when the bravest warriors on both sides had fallen, and most 
of the Trojan allies had been reduced, the place was taken, according to 
the poets, by the stratagem of a wooden horse.* It was plundered and 
burnt, and its inhabitants led away captive, 1184 b. c. A few doubtful 
ruins are now all that mark the site of this ancient and celebrated city. 

*Arrestan, in Syria, was taken by a similar stratagem. See bslow, Seventh Cen 
lury a. d. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY B.C. 33 

Results — The ten years' war was not confined to unproductive battles 
lefore the walls of Troy. The towns along the Hellespont were reduced by 
Vjax ; Achilles extended his conquests along the Euxine ; and Menelaus sub- 
jected several states in Phoenicia, Syria, Egypt, and Cyprus. Thus the Greeks 
lot only proved their superiority in arms, but brought back with them a better 
knowledge of countries which they had previously been made acquainted with 
by the reports of a few adventurers. On their return home, however, they 
found a new race grown up, some occupying the vacant thrones of the absent 
kings, others attempting to usurp them. In Attica, the children of Theseus 
and the faction of Menestheus were engaged in sanguinary hostilities. " The 
great part," says Plato, " of those who had escaped the sword of the enemy, 
perished either by the weapon of the assassin, or by the hardships of a distant 
exile." Menestheus died in the isle of Melos ; Ulysses had scarcely reached 
home, after his ten years' wandering, when he fell in a riot ; Agamemnon was 
murdered by his wife and her paramour, who were both put to death by the 
hand of his son Orestes. This triumph was of little political advantage to 
Greece; but its civilisation advanced greatly after the long residence of its 
warriors on the luxurious shore of Asia. The communication between the two 
countries became more frequent and easy ; commerce was extended; and the 
colonies founded by Nestor, Teucer, Idomeneus, Diomede, and other Greek 
princes banished from their paternal homes, introduced intimate relations 
between these distant regions. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 



Judjea.— 1116, Samuel— Kings.-— 1 095, Saul.— 1055, David.— 1015, Solomon. 

— 1004, Dedication of the Temple. 

Greece. — 1104, Return of the Heraclidae — Death of Codrus— Archons. 

JUD^A. 

Samuel. — The Jewish republic was next governed by the high-priest 
Eli, whose successor, after an administration of twenty years, was 
Samuel, 1116 b. c. He had, by his mother, been consecrated to God in 
his infancy, and while yet a child, was made the interpreter of ihe divine 
will. He is the first of the prujjhels properly so called, the chain being 
preserved in unbroken succession until the death of Malachi, 420 b. c. 
He was the last of the fifteen judges, and with him, according to some 
authors, terminates the Jewish theocracy. He died at the age of 98, 
b. c. 1057. 

Kings. — It was the earnest desire of Moses that the government he 
established should be perpetual ; but, like a wise legislator, he also 
made provisions in the event of any change to the regal form, by laying 
down the principles on which it should take place (Deut. xvii.). 
Jehovah was still to be the supreme monarch, the king merely his 
viceroy. Accordingly, when the Israelites grew tired of the ancient 
constitution, alleging the bad government of Samuel's sons as their pre- 
text, they did not select a ruler for themselves, but applied directly to 
the prophet. Saul was appointed by lot to be the first king; David, 
the second, was selected by the Almighty; and in his son Solomon, the 
throne was declared hereditary in the family of Jesse. 

Saul, 1095 b. c. The beginning of Saul's reign was marked by pru- 
dence and equity ; he defeated the Amalekites, and was continually at 
war with the Philistines. But his pride and anger led him into sin ; 



1 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

he disobeyed the commands of God ; and although his external penitence 
was great, he did not escape the judgments of the Almighty. He 
perished with his three sons in battle against the national enemy on 
Mount Gilboa, and David, the young shepherd of Bethlehem, was 
appointed to succeed him, 1055 b. c. Saul was little more than a 
military leader under the direction of Jehovah, having neither court nor 
fixed residence. His subjects were still only an agricultural and pas- 
toral race, without wealth or luxury; but in his reign they gradually 
assumed a warlike character. 

David, the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, was anointed king by 
Samuel at an early age. He first signalized himself by his victory over 
Goliath, and the defeat of the Philistines, 1063. His renown excited 
the jealousy of Saul, and even endangered his life, but he fortunately 
escaped the javelin which the king threw at him. Nor did he succeed 
to the throne without opposition ; for eleven tribes declared in favour of 
Ishbosheth, Saul's only surviving son, and Judah alone acknowledged 
David. Seven years of civil strife intervened before he was generally 
recognised as sovereign in 1048. He entirely freed Israel from the 
power of her ancient enemies, and extended the limits of the kingdom 
from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, and from Phoenicia to the Red 
Sea. By the conquest of Idumea, he became master of Elath and 
Eziongeber, on the shores of the Arabian Gulf, by means of which ports 
he extended his commerce into the Southern Ocean. But domestic guilt 
stained all his former glories ; although he yielded with humility to the 
reproof of Nathan, he was destined to reap the bitter fruits of his crimes. 
Enemies from without began to harass the country ; his own family 
rebelled against him ; and at length, he died in the 40th year of his 
reign, and the 70th of his age, 1015 b. c. About twenty years before 
his death he defeated the kings of Mesopotamia and Syria, who had 
carried to Babylon a great number of colonists, whom he established 
near the Euphrates. To these captives the Psalmist makes frequent 
allusion, particularly in the 137th Psalm, — an elegy intended to arouse 
the Israelites to the recovery of their unfortunate brethren.* 

In this reign, (lie Jewish government and nation were completely formed. 
The worship of Jehovah became tne exclusive religion of the people, and 
Jerusalem was made the chief sanctuary and the seat of power. David was 
probablv the first who maintained a standing army, twelve corps of 24,000 men 
each b^ing kept in their turn on monthly service. 

It is the opinion of many learned divines, that, in the various events of his 
life, this monarch was a tvpe of the Messiah, and predicted his coming, in the 
Psalms, whose only object is Jesus Christ and his mysteries. Of the whole 
book which passes under his name, not more than seventy or eighty are sup- 
posed to be his composition, many being certainly of an earlier, others of a 
more recent date. These divine songs form a most perfect specimen of lyric 
poetry, and breathe all the sentiments which the tenderest piety can inspire. 
It should not be forgotten, that early in the eleventh century, before Homer 
sang, these religious strains were first heard in Palestine ; and that they have 
ever since been used bv the true church to express all the emotions which the 
changing situations of life bring into action. 



* For this discovery of a Jewish captivity, anterior to that which took place under 
Nebuchadnezzar, we are indebted to the learned researches of M. Vi»uier, who, in his 
work entitled De la Distinction primitive des Psaumes, has fixed the principal epochs of 
the life of David. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY B. C. 35 

Solomon succeeded his father in the year 1015. His reign began 
with favourable prospects, and by banishing all infidels; and in seven 
years and a half he built the celebrated temple, which attests the per- 
fection of the arts and sciences at so remote a period, 1004 b. c. It is 
estimated to have been raised at an expense of not less than 230 millions 
of pounds sterling — a sum so enormous as to give rise to suspicion of in- 
correctness in the account transmitted to us. Unfortunately for himself, 
Solomon married the daughter of the king of Egypt, who did not 
abandon the worship of her countrymen. Before his death, he lapsed into 
idolatrous practices, and his last moments were embittered by the gloomy 
prospects which overhung his kingdom. He died in the 60th year of 
his age, and the 40th of his reign. This monarch was not insensible to 
the advantages of commerce ; and under his direction, Tadmor in the 
Wilderness (Palmyra) was built, on the caravan route, in order to pro- 
mote the trade with the East (34° 24' N., 38° 20' E.). 

Solomon inherited the poetical talents of his father. He is the author of three 
works still extant ; and the loss of his writings on Natural History is a matter 
of serious regret. The Book of Proverbs is a treasure of moral and political 
instruction ; in Ecclesiastes (the Preacher), while he laments his own vices and 
errors, he gives the most earnest exhortation to his son Rehoboam, and after 
examining the various systems of happiness, declares that it can only be found 
in the love of God, and the observance of his commandments ; the Song of 
Songs is a kind of Epilhalamium, composed on the occasion of his marriage 
with the daughter of the king of Egypt, in which profound work, under the 
semblance of conjugal love, he represents the union of our Saviour with the 
Church. 

The first temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 588 
B. c. It was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, 515 b. c. ; plundered and burnt by Antio- 
chus, 167, and purified, 164 b. c. This temple was restored by Herod the 
Great, and finished 8 b. c. ; it was burnt by Titus a. d. 70. 

GREECE. 

Return of the Heraclid.e. — The disasters which befell the Gre- 
cian princes on their return from Troy having loosened the bonds of the 
general confederation, which had been formed to carry on the war, the 
sons of Hercules thought the Peloponnesus fitted for the re-establishment 
of their power. They had taken refuge in Attica from the persecutions 
of Eurystheus of Argos ; and, with the assistance of the Athenians, were 
restored, but only to retire again on the visitation of an avenging pesti- 
lence. Misled by an oracle, three unsuccessful attempts were afterwards 
made to return ; but it was not till the third "feneration, 1104 b. c. that, 
aided by the Dorians, jEtolians, and Locrians, they crossed the Corin- 
thian Gulf and established themselves in Peloponnesus. The iEolians, 
at this time the most powerful tribe of Southern Greece, yielded to their 
irresistible progress. The Achseans, on their expulsion, deprived in 
turn the Ionians of their lands. The barren soil of Attica offered few 
temptations to military adventurers; but it was an asylum for these 
unfortunate exiles, by whom the population was so much increased, that 
change of residence was resorted to as a necessary means of finding 
support. This was the remote cause of the Ionian emigration, the most 
celebrated and important of all which issued from Greece. Aristodemus, 
fifth in descent from Hercules, who died during the expedition, trans- 



36 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

mitted his right to the Spartan throne to his twin sons, Procles and 
Eurysthenes. . 

Codrus. — Before the Dorian immigration, the government of Athens 
was monarchical ; and Codrus, the son of a Messenian exile, named 
Melanthus, was its last king. When the Dorians, jealous of his increas- 
ing power, had invaded his territories, an oracle promised them success, 
if they spared the sovereign's life. On hearing this, though he was far 
advanced in years, he resolved, with all the enthusiasm of youth, to 
sacrifice himself for his beloved country. Disguised as a wood-cutter, 
he entered the hostile camp, where, engaging in a quarrel, he fell by 
the hands of a private soldier, 1095. In the excess of their gratitude, 
the people would appoint no successor to the regal title, but elected 
certain responsible governors, named Jrchons, of whom Medon, Codrus' 
son, was the first. The office was held for life ; but by slow degrees 
the election became annual, and nine were ultimately chosen instead of 
one. This rapid succession of governors, the private interests upon 
which they acted, and the instability of the popular temper, were a 
cause of internal dissensions which lasted until the sixth century. 

On the death of Codrus, the kingly power was not immediately abolished ; 
but the first step was taken towards it, by withdrawing the splendour of regal 
state and title from his successor. Then the sovereignty was diminished to ten 
years, 754, on the death of Alcmaeon ; next, the archonship was made annual, 
684, when the direct line of Codrus became extinct in Eryxias ; it was then 
thrown open to the other houses, then to the rich Eupatridce, and finally to 
every wealthy free citizen. In a similar manner, in the other Greek cities, and 
afterwards in Rome, the superior power descended from the king upon prytanes, 
ephori or consuls of the family to which the sovereign had belonged. The office 
of archon was one of great influence, and when the Pisistratidae assumed it as 
a stay of their dominion, it included the right of presiding and propounding all 
measures in the senate. 

GRECIAN COLONIES. 

Before the invasion of the Dorians and the return of the Heraclidae, the 
colonization of Greece is inextricably involved in the fictions of mythology ; but 
after that period it is more distinct, and its course, offering so many points of 
connexion with modern times, maybe curious and profitable to follow. " Greek 
towns," says Seneca, "have risen in the bosom of the most barbarous coun- 
tries, on the banks of the Indus and in Persia. Achaean cities rule along the 
coast of the Euxine Sea. Asia was filled with Athenian colonies. All the coast 
of Italy washed by the Tuscan Sea bore the name of Magna Grecia, and this 
people found their way even into Gaul." 

The first, or iEolian colonization, occurred about 1088 b. c., when the Hera- 
clidae and their followers deprived the conquered Pelopidas and their subjects of 
their lands, and compelled them to seek an asylum in a foreign country. In 
consequence of the share which the Hellenic tribes took in this invasion, Greece 
shortly after assumed the general name of Hellas. The exiles, for the most 
part, crossed to Asia Minor, and built towns, which, from their favourable 
situation, soon acquired wealth and fame. The most celebrated were Smyrna 
and Mitylene. 

The great Ionian emigration, about 1068 b. c, was led by Neleus, and other 
sons of Codrus, the ranks of whose followers were swelled by all whom enter- 
prise, affection for the leaders, or a love of novelty inspired. The Carians, 
Mygdonians, and Leleges, inhabiting the coast of Asia Minor, were driven to 
the mountains ; wealthy and populous cities were soon raised, of which Miletus 
and Ephesus were the chief. These in turn gave birth to others, until their 
colonies extended over the southern parts of modern Russia, and even as far as 
Bactria. The Ionians maintained their independence against all the efforts o 



TENTH CENTURY B. C. 37 

the four first kings of Lydia, of the race of the Mermnadae ; but they weie at 
last subjugated by Crcesus, the last prince of that family. They still, however, 
preserved their internal government, and enjoyed the same advantages under 
the dominion of the Persians. — The Dorian migration occurred a little later 
than the others, but its history is the same. 

To secure themselves against the barbarians that surrounded them, the 
Ionians entered into a federative union for their common defence ; and the 
general congress of their Twelve Cities was held in the temple of the Heli- 
conian Neptune, near the promontory of Mycale. These annual assemblies 
regulated all matters relative to the public interests, and passed such measures 
as the common benefit required. The colonies were independent down to the 
time of the Persian invasion, except perhaps in a religious subjection to the 
gods of the parent state. To these Greece owes a great portion of her glory 
and unperishing fame. Homer, Alcaeus, and Sappho adorned her with their 
muse ; Archytas, Pythagoras, and Anaximenes improved her with their 
philosophy ; and Pittacus and Thales strengthened her liberties by their 
legislative wisdom. 

TABLE OF GRECIAN COLONIES. 
EUROPE. 

Thracian Chersonese. — Sestos and Cardia. — Abdera, Amphipolis, Olynthus, 
&c, by Athenians and Corinthians. — On the Thracian Bosporus, Byzantium. 
— On the Propontis, Perinthus or Heraclea. 

Italy. — Tarentum (707) and Brundusium ; Sybaris and Crotona (709) ; Rhe- 
gium, Cumse, and Neapolis (Naples). 

Islands. — In Sicily, Messana and Syracuse, by Corinthians; Gela and 
Agrigentum, by Bhodians. In Sardinia, Caralis and Olbia; — In Corsica, 
Aleria, by Phoceans; Samos and Chios. 

Gaul. — Massilia (Marseilles) by Phocea?is. 

Spain. — Saguntum by Zantiotes. 

ASIA. 

Asia Minor. — JEolians built 12 cities, Cyme, Smyrna, Mitylene, &c. 
Ionians founded Colophon, Ephesus, Miletus, &c. 
Dorians built Cnidus, Halicarnassus, &,c. 

Black Sea, Hellespont, &c. — The principal colonies were Lampsacus, Cyzi- 
cus, Trapezus, and Chalcedon. 

AFRICA. 

Cyrene, one of the great African marts, founded by Thereans. 

N.B. Prepare a Map of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, marking the 
site o" all the colonies mentioned above. 



TENTH CENTURY. 



Jvwjea.— 975, Revolt of the Ten Tribes.— 971, Shishak plunders Jerusalem- 
Elijah and Elisha.— 918, Ahab. 
Greece. — Homer and Hesiod flourished. 
Syria. — 940 Benhadad, king of Damascus. 

JUD^A. 

Revolt of the Ten Tribes. — The expenses of Solomon's govern- 
ment required a very large revenue, which was raised by a regular 
system of taxation, imposed directly upon the produce of the cattle and 
of the land. The accession of Rehoboam (975) afforded some hopes of 
4 



38 ANCIEXT NTSTOTCY. 

ameliorating the condition of his subjects, instead of which, their bur- 
dens were increased : my father chastised you with vihips, I will chastise 
you with scorpions. This insolent answer of the prince drove the nation 
to revolt. The kingdom was divided, t ,j n tribes electing Jeroboam, the 
son of Nebat, who had been recalled from Egypt; Judah and Benjamin 
alone remained faithful to the lineal heir. The former, together with 
the tributary nations eastward to the Euphrates, formed the kingdom of 
Israel, of which the capital was Samaria ; while the two remaining 
tribes, with Philistia and Edom, composed that of Judah, 975 b. c. 

From the epoch of the schism of the ten tribes, we shall find the Hebrew 
people continually suffering from foreign or intestine war. The two nations, 
during the short space of 387 years, were governed by 39 monarchs — 20 in 
Judah ; the rest in Israel. Although the latter kingdom was more extensive 
and populous, the former was richer and more important, as well from the 
possession of the capital and Temple, as from the ancient pre-eminence assigned 
to the tribe of Judah. But these reciprocal advantages served only to render 
their struggles more obstinate. In Israel the true religion was maintained 
under severe persecution ; the number of the prophets increased in proportion 
as the necessity was felt in times of difficulty of recurring to the oracles of God ; 
and the hope of a more fortunate era under a mighty king, the expectation of 
the Messiah and of his temporal reign on earth, became more consistent, as the 
recollection of the glorious reign of David was an object of continual and fresh 
regret to the whole nation. Unfortunately the influence of the true prophets, 
often opposed by the false, could never extinguish the dissensions which 
separated the two kingdoms. 

Prepare Map of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 

Judaii. — In this kingdom the succession continued hereditary, with 
only two interruptions, — the usurpation of Athaliah and foreign conquest. 
Rehoboam governed well during three years, and the true religion was 
maintained by the priests and Levites; but he afterwards sank into 
idolatry when he was punished by the invasion of his kingdom and the 
plunder of his capital by Shishak, king of Egypt, 971 b. c* Abijah 
succeeded (958), and perpetuated the evil ways of his father. He 
gained a signal victory over Jeroboam, and recovered many of the towns 
of Judah which the Israelites had taken. Asa was a minor when he 
ascended the throne in 955 ; but under the able regency of Maachah, 
the country enjoyed a peace of ten years. This princess abused her 
authority by establishing the most abominable superstition of idolatry ; 
but Asa, as soon as he was admitted to the exercise of power, restored 
the worship of the true God. He defeated Zerah the Ethiopian, who 
advanced against him at the head of a million of men, 941 b. c. His 
confidence in the Almighty was not equally firm on another occasion, 
when war was declared against him by Baasha, king of Israel ; for he 
sought the aid of Benhadad king of Syria, and imprisoned the prophet 
Hanani for denouncing his want of faith. Jehoshaphat, 914, endeavoured 
to expel ignorance, and to change the idolatrous habits of his people ; 
and with this view, judges were appointed according to the Mosaic 
regulations, and a long peace was the fruit of his zeal, wisdom, and 

*Some chronologers identify Shishak with Sesostris, but Dr. Hales thinks he is rather 
Cephrenes, brother of that Cheops by whom the great pyramid is said to have been built. 
A sculpture has been found at Karnac, in which the chiefs of thirty nations are led 
before the triumphant Sheshonk, among whom appears in legible characters, Joudaha 
Melek, the king of the Jews. 



TENTH CENTUKYT B.C. 39 

piety. He made an unsuccessful attempt to revive the trade to Ophir 
from the ports of the Red Sea. He formed a league with the kingdom 
of Israel, and confirmed it by the marriage of his son Jehoram to Atha- 
liah the daughter of Ahab, — a union fraught with mournful con- 
sequences. 

Israel. — During his exile at the Egyptian court, Jeroboam had con- 
tracted many infidel ideas; and, on the separation of the kingdom, he 
erected two golden calves in opposite parts of his territory, to prevent 
his subjects from weakening their allegiance by going three times a-year 
to worship in Jerusalem, as the law required. Priests were selected 
from the lowest of the people, for none of the Levites were so bold or so 
bad as to assume the office. Shechem became the place of royal resi- 
dence. Baasha seized upon the throne, 951, after having murdered 
Nadab, Jeroboam's son ; and adopting the wicked policy of the sovereign 
now named, he erected a fortress at Ramah to intercept those who went 
to worship on Mount Sion. After his death, the right to the crown was 
contested in civil strife; but Omri, who had been elected by the army, 
929, destroyed his rivals, and removed the seat of government from 
Tirzah to Samaria. He was succeeded by Ahab, his son, 918, who 
surpassed his ancestors in impiety and vice. His wife, Jezebel, put to 
death all the prophets of the true God whom she could find ; Elijah and 
a hundred others were alone miraculously preserved. He twice defeated 
the armies of Benhadad, but fell at last at Ramoth-Gilead, 897. He 
was a brave prince, not wicked of himself, but from the ascendency 
which his impious queen had over his mind. This Sidonian woman, 
brought up in the worship of the Phoenician divinities, established the 
rites of Baal so firmly in Israel, that the successors of Ahab were never 
able to eradicate them. 

GREECE. 

Homer and Hesiod flourished about this period. The former is the 
most ancient Greek poet whose writings have come down to us, and 
seven cities contended for the honour of his birth. The Iliad, an epic 
on the siege of Troy, composed about 150 years after that event, and the 
Odyssey, containing the adventures of Ulysses on his return, are the 
noblest of all poems. The lines of Homer were as familiar in the 
mouths of the people, as those of Tasso are said to have been to the 
Venetian gondoliers. Modern scepticism has thrown doubts upon his 
existence and personality, but there appears to be no reasonable ground 
for such incredulity. Lycurgus first brought his poems into Greece 
from Asia; and two centuries and a half later, Pisistratus is supposed 
to have given to them their present form. His son, Hipparchus, first 
caused portions of them to be recited at the Panathenean Games : but 
our modern editions are taken from the more complete one prepared by 
Aristotle for the use of his pupil Alexander. 

Ascra, in Bceotia, was the birthplace of Hesiod. He wrote the earliest 
didactic poem, The Works and Days, in which, with directions for cul- 
tivating the fields and watching the seasons, he has mingled sage 
counsels and moral reflections. Virgil frequently imitates him in his 
Genrgics. The Theogony is a precious relic of the mythology of the 
ancients, treating of the origin of the world, and of its mortal and im- 
mortal inhabitants. His poems were committed to memory by the 



40 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

young, and were engraved and hung up in the temple of the Muses.— 
While some critics mention him as a contemporary with the author of 
the Iliad, others would rank him a century later. The Parian chronicle 
places Homer 907, and Hesiod 944 b. c. 

Consult: Coleridge, Introduction to Classic Poets. — Bulwer's Athens, 
Book I. ch. viii. 

GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

The religion of the Greeks deified nature, and the poems of Homer and 
Hesiod embodied their faith. According to this ancient belief, an infinite power 
drew the universe out of chaos and created gods and men. The empire was 
disputed; Earth fought against Heaven; the Titans against the Gods. The 
race of immortals increased and multiplied. Saturn {Chronos), born of the Earth 
and Heaven, had three sons who divided the universe among them. Jupiter 
{Zeus) governed Heaven ; Neptune {Poseidon) reigned over the Sea, and Pluto 
in the Lower Regions. By all the other gods were their orders executed. 
Vulcan (Hephaistos) presided over fire ; Mars {Ares) led the warrior to battle ; 
Venus {Aphrodite) and Love inspired the tender passions, or allured to pleasure ; 
Minerva {Athene) gave wisdom ; Mercury {Hermes) conducted the orator to 
the tribunal, and the shades to Tartarus; Themis held the balance of justice; 
Jupiter hurled his thunderbolts to frighten crime, and by his oracles announced 
the future ; his court, the centre of eternal light, was the abode of happiness. 
Each river had its divinity ; the Naiad refreshed the wearied traveller at her 
limpid fountain ; and the Dryad cooled him with the shade of her groves. 
Bacchus {Dionysus) animated the festivity of the vintager ; the Graces {Charites) 
spread their charms at once over the external form and the effusions of the 
mind ; Apollo and the Muses inspired with talent ; Vulcan forged the celestial 
arms of Jove ; and Gayety was protected by Mc%ius. Diana {Artemis) guided 
the dogs in the ardent chase, and by her rays dispelled the obscurity of the 
night ; while, soothed by the poppies of Morpheus, wearied mortals forgot 
their labours, their fatigues, and all their pains, save those of remorse. Heaven 
had its festivals and banquets ; youth, embodied in the charming Hebe, dis- 
tributed ambrosia and poured out the nectar for the gods; and the Olympian 
vaults resounded with the lyre of Apollo. In the morning, the rosy-fingered 
Aurora {Eous) opened the gates of heaven, and spread over earth and air the 
double perfume of Flora, the goddess of flowers, and of Pomona, who presided 
over the fruits. Phoebus mounting the chariot of the sun, poured floods of light 
upon the earth; and when iEolus, the god of winds, had again collected the 
furious storms in their mountain cave and rocky isle, the brilliant messenger 
of Juno, light-footed Iris, by the traces of her many-coloured steps, announced 
to the world the return of a season of calm weather. Other deities were more 
immediately connected with man. Hymen guarded the sanctity of the mar- 
riage vows; Lucina presided over births, while Libitina had the charge of 
funerals. Death and the Fates (Parcae), one with his inexorable scythe, and 
the others, with their merciless scissors, cut the thread of his destiny. The 
bark of Charon bore him across the Styx, and placed him on the gloomy shores 
of Pluto ; Minos, .ZEacus, and Rhadamanthus, judged him at their inflexible 
tribunal ; and he was led away to the groves of Elysium or committed to the 
power of the avenging Nemesis; the black Furies lashed him with their 
scourges, tore him with their serpents, dragged him to the caverns of Avernus, 
and there delivered him to the most cruel torture. 

Consult: Keightley's Mythology ; or Lempriere's Dictionary. 

SYRIA. 

This country, like Phoenicia, did not form a single state, but consisted 
of several cities, such as Damascus and Hamath, each possessing a 
feparate territory, and having its own chief. The first of these was an 



NINTH CENTURY B. C. 41 

important place in the time of Abraham ; but it was Rehob, first king ot 
Zobah, and contemporary of Saul, who laid the foundation of its great 
ness. His son Hadarezer, who endeavoured to subject the whole ot 
Syria to his power, was fortunate in all his enterprises, till he turned his 
arms against David, when he was defeated in two battles and slain. 
The Hebrew monarch became master of the country as far as the 
Euphrates ; but in the time of Solomon, Rezon, who had formerly been 
a slave, made himself independent, and united to his dominion the 
ancient monarchies of Hamath and Geshur. Its boundaries were after- 
wards increased at the expense of the divided kingdoms of Israel and 
Judah. Benhadad I. who was sovereign about 940, formed a league 
with Baasha, king of Israel, against the King of Judah ; but Asa, by his 
numerous and valuable presents, was so fortunate as to detach him from 
the alliance, and to persuade him to attack his former confederate. In a 
short space of time, the Syrian monarch had overrun and reduced Dan, 
Abion, Abela, and all the country bordering on the Lake of Gennesareth. 
Hazael ascended the throne in 885, after the murder of his predecessor, 
Benhadad II. He ravaged Israel in retaliation of the attack which 
Jehoram had made on his territories, and shortly after captured Jeru- 
salem, putting the inhabitants to the sword. By the cruelties he 
exercised on the people of God, he appears to have accomplished the 
mournful predictions of the prophets, who had announced him as the 
scourge of the Almighty. At his death he was decreed divine honours 
by his subjects. Under Rezin, in 740 «. c, the kingdom was over- 
thrown by Tiglath-Pileser. 



NINTH CENTURY. 



JudjEa. — 889, Translation of Elijah. — 884, Jehu — Athaliah — Jonah, Hosea, 

and Amos flourished. 

Greece. — 884, Lycurgus — Iphitus in Elis. 

Macedonia. — 813, Caranus, First King. 

Carthage. — 890, Dido emigrates from Phoenicia. 

JUD^A. 

Judah. — Towards the end of the reign of Jehoshaphat, his kingdom 
was invaded by an army of Moabites, Edomites, and Arabians from 
Mount Seir. They pitched their camp at Engaddi, about forty miles 
from Jerusalem. In this pressing danger the king ordered a public fast 
and solemn prayers. The vows he addressed to Heaven were heard : 
dissension spread among the hostile forces, and they turned their arms 
against each other, 895 b. c. The scene of this deliverance was after- 
wards known as the Valley of Blessing. Jehoshaphat, now become 
the terror of his enemies, enjoyed the profoundest peace until his death. 
T ehoram succeeded at the age of thirty-five, 889. During the four pre- 
ceding years he had been associated with his father on the throne, — a 
circumstance by no means rare in the East, particularly in Persia. 
When a monarch went on any dangerous or distant expedition, he 
generally took the precaution of naming his successor, and giving him, 

i* 



42 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

the title of king before his departure. He murdered his six brothers, 
and their fate was shared by many of the princes of Judah whom his 
predecessor had honoured. Being influenced by his wife Athaliah, the 
daughter of Ahab, a princess as nearly allied to the infamous Jezebel in 
character as in blood, he imitated the impiety of the kings of Israel. 
To punish this apostasy, the Ammonites and Philistines invading his 
dominions plundered his capital ; and he was struck with an incurable 
malady, which at last deprived him of life, after two years of most 
dreadful sufferings, 885 b. c. Idumea was entirely separated from 
Judah in this refgn, and thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaac in 
favour of his eldest son : ' when thou shalt have the dominion, thou 
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.' Ahaziah perished by the 
hands of Jehu, in the first year of his reign ; after which, his mother 
Athaliah put to death all the royal family, and seized upon the throne. 
Joash, who alone was saved from the carnage, was secretly educated in 
the temple; and when six years had expired, Jehoiada, the high-priest, 
bringing him before the people, he was placed upon the throne, the 
queen having been killed by the populace, 878 b. c. Joash, guided by 
the advice of his protector, was a model of piety and justice. He 
restored the worship of God ; but when Jehoiada was dead, he listened 
to evil counsellors, persecuted the prophets, who denounced his aban- 
donment of the true religion, and saw, in consequence, his capital 
twice besieged and plundered by the Syrians. He was slain in 838, 
and buried in the city of David, but not in the tomb of the kings. Nor 
was this the only occasion in which the honour of royal sepulture was 
refused to those monarchs who had shown themselves unworthy of that 
mark of posthumous respect. Amaziah put to death the murderers of 
his parent, and signalized the course of his reign by acts of piety and 
justice. He defeated the Idumeans and took Petra, but was not equally 
successful against Jehoash, king of Israel, by whom Jerusalem itself 
was sacked, 826 b. c. 

Israel. — Ahaziah, 897, not less wicked than the impious Ahab, main- 
tained the idolatrous worship of Baal and of the goddess Astarte, 
established by his mother, — but the divine vengeance soon overtook 
him : he was killed by falling from a window of his palace. Jehoram, 
the brother of Ahaziah, began his reign (896) by destroying the statues 
of Baal erected by his father; but his subsequent conduct belied this 
first act of fidelity. He was soon compelled to march against the King 
of Moab to enforce his tribute; and forming an alliance with Jehosha- 
phat and the sovereign of Idumea, he advanced into the desert, where, 
as the combined armies were nigh perishing with thirst, Elisha obtained 
a miraculous supply of water. The Moabites were defeated, their 
country laid waste, and the capital invested, when the despairing 
monarch brought his son on the walls, and, in sight of his enemies, 
offered him a living sacrifice to Moloch. Upon this the siege was 
broken up in horror. Jehoram's reign was signalized by the long 
blockade of Samaria by Benhadad, when severe famine drove mothers 
to devour their own children. The miraculous disappearance of the 
army soon afterwards verified Elisha's prophecy. Jehu ascended the 
throne, after murdering his predecessor, 884. He exterminated the 
family of Ahab and the priests of Baal, although he did not himself 



NINTH CENTURY B. C. 43 

forsake idolatry ; and by retaining the golden calves erected by Jero- 
boam, he showed that his former religious zeal was principally directed 
by selfish motives. This culpable toleration did not escape unpunished, 
for the lands beyond Jordan were wrested from his dominion by Hazael 
king of Syria. Jehoahaz, his son, who succeeded him in 856, could 
not be induced by the misfortunes which both he and his subjects 
experienced from the Syrians, to resign his foolish idolatry. Jehoash 
(839) imitated the impiety of his father ; but being more successful 
against his enemies, he repaired, in great measure, the losses which his 
kingdom had suffered during the reign of his two immediate predeces- 
sors. The aged prophet Elisha, on his death-bed, promised the king 
three successive victories over Benhadad ; he therefore declared war 
against him, defeated his forces in three battles, and retook several 
cities. He died 825 b. c, and was succeeded by his son Jeroboam II., 
a valiant prince, who restored the dominions of Israel to their ancient 
limits. The prophets Jonah, Hosea, and Amos, flourished in this 
reign. 

GREECE. 

Lycurgus, 884 b. c* — From the epoch of the Dorian migration, 
Sparta had been governed by two kings at one time. Lycurgus, who 
was regent during the minority of his nephew Charilaus, feeling the 
necessity of some code of legislation to regulate the disorders of the 
state, travelled to Crete, where he had family connexions, to study the 
laws of Minos. He next visited Lesser Asia and Egypt, when, being 
suddenly recalled after an absence of eighteen years, he entirely changed 
the government, and bound the nation by an oath to observe his regula- 
tions until he should return from his travels. He left with the intention 
of never visiting Sparta again. His institutions were not committed to 
writing until 130 years after his death, but conveyed in apophthegms, 
which were confirmed by the oracle at Delphi. It may be remarked, 
that a great part of the regulations which he comprised in his laws were 
not new, but derived from the usages of the Dorians, or Cretans who 
were themselves of Doric race. This great man had without doubt 
reflected deeply on the tragical fate of the royal lines sprung from Cad- 
mus, Danaus, and Pelops, and en the calamities which, on several occa- 
sions, had ravaged their country. He wished to save the Heraclidse 
from a similar catastrophe, and to protect the fertile plains of Laconia 
from the inroads of some adventurous or warlike race. He ensured this 
twofold design, by confirming the hereditary honours of the kings, with 
a limited but acknowledged power ; and by forming a nation of brave 
and incorruptible men, in whom patriotism and the warlike virtues 
should be the predominant passions. 

Constitution. — Lycurgus wrought no change in the religious system 
of Sparta, except that all the gods and goddesses were clad in armour. 
No splendid monument was raised over those who fell in battle ; and 
all murmurs for their loss were forbidden. Two kings governed con- 
jointly, while twenty-eight senators held the balance between them and 
the people. All the lands were divided into equal portions : 9000 shares 

* Mr. Fynes Clinton, the most laborious and profound of modern chronolojrers, makes 
Lycurgus contemporary with Homer, and places both after the Return of the Hera- 
clid.-v 



44 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

were assigned to the Spartans, 30,000 to the Laconians, the whole being 
cultivated by Helots. The only coins were of iron. The Spartans fed 
at a common table; the children were the property of the state; those 
who wore born deformed were not permitted to live. The training of 
the boys was such as to excite in their hearts a taste for war, contempt 
of death, obedience, and the practice of the austerer virtues. They 
went barefooted, and throughout the year wore only a single garment. 
Theft was encouraged, that the youths might become fitted for the 
stratagems of war; and when detected, they were severely punished 
for their clumsiness. Their education, strictly so called, finished at the 
age of twenty ; in literature, they committed to memory a few patriotic 
soncrs, and learned to express themselves laconically^ that is, with 
brevity and precision. 

Read : Laws of Lycurgus, in Anacharsis, vol. iv. ch. 4S. 

The great defect of all Dorian legislation was its tendency to maintain a 
warlike character — to oppress the slave population — and to render war a more 
natural state than peace. In Laconia there were three classes: Lords, or Spar- 
tans ; Periceci, or Lacedemonians, inhabitants of the country, who paid tribute 
and gave military service ; and Helots. The cultivation of the soil fell to the 
last alone. The Spartans of the capital were the ruling lords ; the Periceci 
were probably the mingled offspring of Dorian marriages, or native Acheans. 
The third class were the inhabitants of Helos, reduced to slavery as a punish- 
ment for their continual insurrections. The chief authority was in the hands 
of the two kings, the five ephori, and the senate of twenty-eight ; the popular 
assembly had no other privilege than that of electing the senators, who held 
their places for life. The government was therefore far from being a demo- 
cracy. The power of the king was supreme in war, but inferior to that of the 
ephori in peace. These magistrates, originally created as a check alike upon 
the sovereign and the senate, gradually usurped excessive power. The dread- 
ful massacre of their slaves (crypteia), and the dissolute manners arising from 
certain regulations concerning the intercourse of the sexes, are well known. 
The Spartan women were reckoned a disgrace to their sex, and Aristotle 
imputes the disorders which ruined the nation to their want of modesty. The 
Germans, with their habitual love of paradox, have lately started and as ably 
defended a theory that the Dorian states, including Sparta, were the first in 
arts, literature, and arms. But in this community there were no authors; the 
arts, which form the charm and ornament of life were unknown ; and for all 
memorials of the virtue of the republic we are indebted to the Athenians. 

Consult: Mitford's History of Greece; Bulwer's Athens, Book I. ch. vi. 
$ 5, &c. 

CARTHAGE. 

Dido, 890* b. c. — Carthage on the northern coast of Africa, was 
founded by Elisa or Dido, sister of Pygmalion king of Tyre, though 
others place its foundation so early as 1223 b. c. It would be wrong 
to take the account transmitted to us in its literal sense. It is probable 
that political commotions in the mother city induced a party of the dis- 
affected to emigrate, who proceeded to Africa, along whose northern 
coast Utica and other Phoenician colonies had already been settled. 
After the decease of Dido there is a void in the history of more than 
three centuries. In the time of Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, the 
republic was formidable by land and sea (550-480). About the same 
period they defeated a fleet of the Phoceans, then the most powerful 

* Petav. Ration. Temp. I. ii. c. 13. 



EIGHTH CENTURY 1$. <J. 45 

maritime state. To the same epoch must be referred their great vic- 
tories over their African neighbours, and the first treaty with Rome, 
509 b. c. 

The constitution of Carthage was aristocratic, administered by two judges 
(svffel.es), a senate of 100 members, and an assembly of the people. The 
judges were annually chosen from the oldest and most opulent families ; and 
the popular assembly was appealed to only when the opinions of the senate 
and the council of five (the assistants of the suffetes) were divided. Aristotle 
ranks this republic among those most esteemed by the ancients. The Cartha- 
ginian religion was of the mother-country : the heavenly bodies were wor- 
shipped, and the blood-stained rites of Moloch held in great honour. In times 
of public distress, 300 noble youths were placed alive in his blazing arms. 
Carthage was pre-eminently a commercial city ; all its power and consequencp 
were derived from trade ; its fleets covered the seas ; and its colonies or fac- 
tories were on every shore. The mines of Old Spain were worked, and with 
the gold thence procured, Spanish, Ligurian, and Italian soldiers were hired to 
form its armies. The Carthaginians held Sicily, Malta, the Balearic Isles, 
Sardinia, and Corsica; they frequented the west of Africa as far as the Guinea 
coast, and visited Britain ; but the passage to the Canaries was forbidden. 
Their caravans travelled eastward to Egypt, and southward to Fe«ian, or 
even further. 

MACEDONIA. 

Towards the end of this century, a Hellenic colony from Argos, under 
Caranus(813,) settled in Emathia, and laid the feeble foundations of the 
Macedonian empire. Its early history, however, is obscure, and little 
more is known than that its princes gradually extended their territory 
by subjecting or expelling the neighbouring tribes. They were deli- 
vered from the Persian yoke, imposed in 510, by the victories of the 
Greeks ; and their independence was restored by the battle of Platsea, 
479, although it was not distinctly acknowledged by their former masters. 
It was scarcely considered a Grecian state until the reign of Philip, the 
father of Alexander. 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 



Judaea. — 721, Captivity of the Ten Tribes— Isaiah, Habakkuk, Nahum./?. 

Greece.— 776, First Olympiad.— 743, First Messenian War. 

Assyria. — 759, Sardanapalus, d. — 747, iEra of Nabonassar. — 714, 

Sennacherib. 

Rome. — 753. Foundation of Rome — Senate. 

Lydia. — 727, Gyges. 

JUD^A. 

Judah. — In 810 B.C., Amaziah was succeeded by Uzziah, also called 
Azariah, who served the Lord so long as the prophet Zechariah lived, 
and all his enterprises therefore succeeded. The Arabians, Ammonites, 
and Philistines, became his tributaries ; and having formed an alliance 
with Jeroboam II. of Israel, he overcame the Syrians, and recovered the 
cities of Hamath and Damascus. He retook Elath from the Idumeans, 
and re-established the ancient commerce of the Jews on the Red Sea ; 
but intoxicated with success, he forgot what he owed to the God of 



46 AWCIBNT HISTORY. 

Jacob. On a day of solemn festival, he presumed, in defiance of the 
high-priest, to offer incense in the temple, when he was immediately 
struck with leprosy, of which he died 758 b. c. Jotham, who had been 
appointed regent during the life of his father, received the reward of his 
piety in great successes over his enemies ; though from the portrait of 
this age left us by Isaiah, we learn that the manners of- the people were 
•/ery corrupted. iMicah, who began to prophesy about this time, pre- 
dicted the misfortunes of Samaria, the birth of the Messiah at Bethlehem, 
the conversion of the Gentiles, and the dispersion of the Jews. The 
righteous Jotham was succeeded by his son Ahaz, 742, who restored 
the worship of Baal, offered sacrifice to the idols of the neighbouring 
nations, and burnt incense on all the high places. The instruments 
chosen by the Almighty to punish this impiety were Rezin king of 
Syria, and Pekah king of Israel, whose united forces, after devastating 
the country, blockaded Ahaz in Jerusalem, with the design of extermi- 
nating the house of David and changing the order of succession. In 
this pressing danger the prophet Isaiah restored the waning confidence 
of the monarch ; the siege was raised, and the two kings retired without 
any important conquest. Ahaz, far from being touched by so marked 
an interposition of Heaven, passed his own son through the fire to 
Moloch.* In the next year, being defeated by the King of Israel, he 
purchased the assistance of Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, with all 
the gold and silver found in the temple, or in the royal treasury, 740 
b. c. Elath became the prize of his ally, and the great commerce of 
the East was for ever taken away from Jerusalem. When Ahaz was 
threatened by the Assyrians, he indulged in the greatest excess of 
idolatry, in the hope of propitiating the divinities of his enemies, to 
whom he attributed all the misfortunes which had befallen him. 
Hezekiah, one of the most righteous kings that ever filled the throne 
of Judah, consecrated the beginning of his reign to the destruction of 
idols, and the restoration of the true worship, 726 b. c. He celebrated 
the Passover with great solemnity ; repaired many of the losses which 
his people had suffered in preceding reigns ; and even ventured to shake 
off the Assyrian yoke. Shalmaneser was diverted from attacking his 
kingdom, after the subjugation of Israel, by an anxiety to reduce the 
Phoenician states; but Sennacherib, his successor, renewing the claim, 
shortly after entered Judaea with a powerful army ; nor did he retire 
until Hezekiah had submitted, and consented to pay an annual tribute 
of 300 talents of silver, and 30 of gold, 713 b. c. In an expedition des- 
tined against Egypt, the Assyrian monarch again appeared before 

* Moloch was a Phoenician goo", whose statue and temple were in the valley of Hin- 
nom, at the foot of Mount Sion. The place derived its name of Tophet from the musical 
instruments (tuph) used to drown the cries of the children who were sacrificed. Hence 
also the names of Tophet, Gehinnom or Gehenna, given to the place of eternal 
torments. 

" Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood 

Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears ; 

Though for the noise of drums and timbrels loud 

Their children's cries unheard, that passed through fire, 

To his grim idol." — Milton. 

The high places mentioned above were those in which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
had sacrificed to the true God, and for which the people always preserved a great 
respect. Here they persisted in ofTerinsr sacrifices in spite of the prohibition which 
confined such religious service to the temple alone. 



EIGHTH CENTURY R. C. 47 

Jerusalem, in which was the prophet Isaiah. But during the night a 
pestilence sent from heaven destroyed the principal officers of his army 
with 185,000 men, 710 b. c ; upon which he returned in haste to Nine- 
veh, where he was assassinated hy his own sons. Shortly before, the 
King of Judah had been attacked with a mortal disease ; but on his 
humble prayer, Isaiah was commanded to predict his recovery as well 
as the prolongation of his life; and to confirm this prophecy the shadow 
of the sun went back ten degrees upon the dial of Ahaz. Hezekiah 
passed the rest of his days in tranquillity ; and having embellished 
Jerusalem, built aqueducts, and other public works, he died 698 b. c. 

Israel. — A turbulent interregnum of twelve years followed the death 
of Jeroboam II. ; and his son Zechariah, who was murdered in the first 
year of his reign, 772, was the last of the house of Jehu, which had 
given five kings to Israel. The regicide Shallum, after a reign of one 
month, was, in his turn, assassinated by Menahem, who governed ten 
years, to 761 b. c, and under him took place the first invasion of the 
Assyrians led by Pul. Little is recorded of Pekahiah who was slain 
by Pekah, one of his generals, and his successor (759.) This monarch, 
being joined by Rezin king of Damascus, invaded Judah, and carried 
away 200,000 prisoners, whom, in obedience to the remonstrances of the 
prophet Obed, he restored to their country. An interregnum of nine 
years followed his assassination (739,) during which period of confu- 
sion Tiglath-Pileser ravaged the districts beyond the Jordan. The 
cup of iniquity was now full, and God resolved to execute his judgments. 
By an alliance with the Egytian Sabacus or So, Hoshea endeavoured to 
shake off the Assyrian yoke ; but Shalmaneser invaded his territories 
with an overwhelming force, conquered Samaria, and, in 721 B.C., put 
an end to the kingdom of Israel, 254 years after the defection from 
Judah. The inhabitants were transported into Media, to provinces 
which had lately been depopulated in consequence of the fall of the first 
Assyrian empire, and to Babylon. The Israelites were replaced by 
Medians and Assyrians, who forsook their idolatry, erected a temple on 
Mount Gerizim, and instituted ceremonies similar to those of Jerusalem. 
These new colonists were afterwards termed Samaritans, and differed 
from the Jews only in their schism. 

Prepare : Table of contemporaneous kings of Israel and Judah. 
GREECE. 

Olympiads, 776 b. c. — With the establishment of Olympiads Grecian 
history begins to assume a less fabulous appearance. The name is 
derived from the Games, held every four years, near the city of Olympia, 
on the banks of the Alpheus, and their commencement is placed as high 
as 1354 b. c. They were re-established by Iphitus of Elis in conjunc- 
tion with Lycurgus, and Cleosthenes of Pisa, about 884 ; but a century 
elapsed before the names of the victors were inscribed in the gymnasium. 
The first year of the First Olympiad begins with July, 776 b. c* 

*To reduce the Olympiads to the common era, multiply the Olympiad immediately 
preceding the one in question by 4, and add the number of years to the given Olympiad 
If b. c. subtract the amount from 777 ; if a. d. subtract 776 from the amount. Thus 146 
Ol. 2, is 95 b. c. and 222 Ol 2. is 110 a. d. The Olympic, year commenced with the new 
moon nearest to the summer solstice. 



48 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

The four most celebrated of the public games of Greece were the Nemean, 
held in Argolis ; the Isthmian, in Corinth; the Pythian, at Delphi; and the 
Olympic ; in which a simple wreath of laurel or of olive was given to the suc- 
cessful competitors. The value of the prize was enhanced by its being awarded 
in the presence of the whole Greek nation, and by the honours which his 
native city paid to the victor who had contributed to its glory. If an Athenian, 
he was entitled to a seat in the Prytaneum ; if a Spartan, to the chief post in 
battle. 

The Eleans were the sole managers of the Olympic games, and during their 
celebration a kind of sacred truce was preserved. The first contentions were 
in the foot-race alone ; afterwards were added wrestling, leaping, throwing the 
quoit and javelin, boxing, with horse and chariot racing. In the Pentathlon 
five gymnastic exercises were combined. At Olympia were read fragments of 
the history of Herodotus, and while listening to his enchanting legends, Thu- 
cydides caught that inspiration which led him not only to excel his master, but 
to attain a point of great excellence. Here also Lysias recited his harangue on 
the fall of the tyrant Dionysius. Such exhibitions had the effect of transform- 
ing social pleasures into intellectual enjoyments. 

ASSYRIA. 

The annals of the first Assyrian empire are involved in obscurity not 
less difficult to remove than that of Egypt ; for the notices respecting 
the origin of the latter power as well as of Babylon, which are furnished 
in the Bible, are not sufficient to complete a continuous history. At the 
epoch of the Dispersion, Ashur was established in Shinar {Babylonia) ; 
but soon after, advancing northward, he founded the cities of Nineveh, 
Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen. About the same time, or perhaps a little 
earlier, Nimrod settled in Babylonia, from which he is supposed by 
many historians to have expelled Ashur. He converted the tower of 
Babel into a fortress, by surrounding it with strong walls, from whence 
he kept the neighbouring country in subjection. He next passed into 
Assyria, and confined Ashur within a narrower territory. In the rab- 
binical books Nimrod is represented as the inventor of fire-worships, 
and the first persecutor of the religion of the true God. 

After this conqueror we have no certain information of the govern- 
ment of the Assyrians ; and the period intervening between him and 
Ninus is filled by some writers with a list of thirteen kings, divided into 
two dynasties. Of these, Evechous, the son and successor of Nimrod, 
is the first; Chomas-Bel, the next, is perhaps the same as Bel-chamas, 
the second of the Babylonian divinities ; Por or Pong is considered to 
be Baal-Peor or Belphegor. The name of Chinzir, the seventh king, 
closes the first series. After a reign of forty-five years he was dethroned 
by the Arabs, and his monarchy being dismembered, was formed into 
the kingdoms of Shinar, Elam, Ellasar, and some others mentioned in 
the Book of Genesis, in connexion with the history of Abraham. — The 
second dynasty, composed of six Arabian kings, occupied the throne 215 
years; and the last sovereign of this race was Nabonadius, dethrored 
by Belus, who had already governed part of Assyria during thirty years. 
He reigned twenty-five years longer over the united kingdom, and 
dying, was succeeded by his son Ninus, 1963 b. c. (PArL de verifier le* 
Dates). 

The first conquests of Ninus were over the Babylonians, whose cities 
he easily reduced. After Media and Armenia had submitted to his 
arms, he experienced little opposition in the rest of Asia, except from 



EIGHTH CENTURY B. C. 49 

the Bactrians, who were at last subdued in consequence of the wise 
suggestions of his wife Semiramis. The history of the early life of this 
remarkable woman is mingled with fable ; and her elevation to the 
imperial throne can only be compared to that of Catherine I. of Russia. 
She had no sooner succeeded her husband than she endeavoured to 
eclipse his glory ; and as he had rebuilt in a very magnificent manner, 
the ancient city of Nineveh on the banks of the Tigris, she determined 
that Babylon should surpass it in splendour. In the execution of her 
great project, two millions of workmen were employed, and the city, 
finished in the space of two years, was ever after considered one of the 
wonders of the world. Nor did she limit her cares to this city alone; 
many others were built or improved on the banks of the Tigris and 
Euphrates. In all parts of her dominions she formed aqueducts, so 
valuable in hot countries, pierced or levelled mountains, filled up valleys, 
and opened highways in every direction. Even at the present day the 
communication between Bagdad and Hamadan is maintained through 
one of the roads constructed by this celebrated queen. After a reig.i r i 
forty-two years, and at the age of sixty-two, Semiramis resigned rhe 
sceptre to her son Ninyas, who, it is said, spent his life in indolence 
and retirement, — a course imitated by all his successors till the reign of 
Sardanapalus. One circumstance alone breaks through the silence of 
this long interval. Tentamus, the twentieth successor of Ninyas, sent 
assistance to Priam ; and Plato, from whom we learn this fact, adds 
that Troy was a dependency of Assyria. The conquests of Sesostris 
king of Egypt, occurred probably under the government of these de- 
scendants of Ninyas ; he contented himself with levying heavy tributes, 
leaving the sovereign power as he found it. 

Sardanapalus, with whom the first Assyrian empire terminated, sur- 
passed all his predecessors in luxury and voluptuousness. His excesses 
rendered him contemptible in the eyes of his subjects, and inspired 
thoughts of revolt in the mind of Belesis, a priest of Babylon, who 
associated with him in his plot Arbaces, the governor of Media. At the 
first news of the projected insurrection, the king concealed himself in 
the most retired chambers of his palace ; but soon regaining courage, he 
collected an army of faithful soldiers, and defeated the insurgents in 
three desperate battles. He was at last compelled to return to Nineveh, 
which held out during two years; when the Tigris, swollen by unusual 
rains, overflowed its banks and destroyed great part of the walls. To 
prevent his falling into the hands of the enemy, and to efface the memory 
of a shameful life by a vainglorious death, he caused a vast pile to be 
raised, on which he burnt himself, together with his wives and treasures, 
759 b. c. 

Three empires shared the vast dominions of the successors of Ninus : 
— 1, The Assyrian monarchy of Babylon founded by Belesis, which, 
after lasting about 220 years, was conquered by Cyrus, 538 b. c. ; — 2, 
The ancient kingdom of the Ninevite Assyrians, perpetuated by Pul, 
and which, in little more than 130 years, was reunited to Babylon; — 
3, The state of the Medes, indebted for its independence to Arbaces, and 
which, becoming monarchical under Deioces, continued about 220 years, 
and was at last united to the vast empire of Persia. 
5 



«')0 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

It has been thought, and not without sufficient reason, that the enterprise, of 
Belesis and Arbaces has been confounded with that of Nabopolassar and 
Cyaxares against Chynaladan king of Assyria, and which will be treated of in 
the seventh century. It is certain that the revolution which destroyed Sarda- 
napalus, called also Enipacmes or Eupalis, did not entirely destroy the Assyrian 
empire ; and that it scarcely did more than cause the dismemberment of several 
provinces, the chief of which were Babylon and Media. It would be useless to 
endeavour to reconcile the contradictory accounts which the ancients have 
transmitted to us of the last days of Sardanapaius. It seems, however, to be 
established by modern critics,* that there were two persons of that name ; 
that Nineveh was not destroyed ; and even that Sardanapaius, surviving his 
degradation, resigned the government to the hands of his son Pul, and passed 
the remainder of his days in luxurious retirement. 

Second Empire of Nineveh. — Pul, the first king of the new empire 
of Assyria, was the son of Sardanapaius, and is known to have inter- 
fered in the civil dissensions of the kingdom of Israel. His successors 
were steady in his course of policy, which was destined at no distant 
period to open the road to Egypt. He has been thought to be the Belus 
cf profane history, and the founder of the Assyrian monarchy. Tiglath- 
Pileser, his son and successor, 747 b. c, a warlike prince, endeavoured 
to repair the losses which his territories had suffered during the last 
revolution; and, with this view, he invaded Palestine, destroyed the 
kingdom of Damascus, and transported the unfortunate inhabitants of 
that city into his own states, 740. Ahaz also, king of Judah, was com- 
pelled to pay him tribute. He died after a reign of nineteen years, and 
was succeeded oy Shalmaneser (728) who surpassed the exploits of his 
father. Having completed the conquest of Israel, he led Hoshea into 
captivity, the ]ast sovereign of that schismatical kingdom ; and after 
reducing the various states of Phoenicia, he compelled their inhabitants 
to pay tribute. He died in 714, and was followed on the throne by his 
son Sennacherib, the Sargon of Isaiah. He began his reign by the 
invasion of Judea ; but, while threatening Jerusalem, his army was 
smitten with pestilence or by the simoom (" the angel of death," as it is 
called by the Arabs), and 185,000 men perished in a single night. 
Rendered ferocious by his disgrace, he exercised the crudest tyranny 
on his subjects. The Jews were particularly exposed to his anger. He 
daily massacred great numbers of them, and left their bodies in the 
fields without sepulture. Becoming odious to his family his two elder 
sons conspired and slew him, 707 b. c. ; but fleeing into Armenia, they 
left the throne to the youngest, Esarhaddon. 

Second Empire of Babylon. — Nothing is more obscure than the 
beginning of this empire, which, until the year 721, had no communica- 
tion with the Jewish people. Belesis, generally considered as the first 
king of this new monarchy, was, according to Diodorus, merely governor 
of Babylon under Arbaces the Median. It is contended by many mo 
dern historians that he and his successor Nabonassar are one and the 
same person ; an opinion which is scarcely tenable. The name of 
Belesis is not found in the list of Babylonian kings given by Ptolemy. 
Some writers believe that he formed the province into a sort of republic, 
with himself at its head, but dependent on the King of Nineveh. The 
actions of Nabonassar are entirely unknown, except that he is reported 



* See vol. xxi. of the Memoires de VAcadcmie des Inscriptions et Belle3-Lettres. 



EIGHTH CENTURY B. C. 51 

.o have destroyed the monuments of his predecessors in the foolish hope 
of passing for the first king- of the Babylonian nation. The epoch which 
bears his name, and which was adopted on the introduction of the 
Egyptian year, begins with 747 b. c* Beyond their names we know 
but little of the next four kings, Nadius, Chinzirus, Porus, and Jugeus. 
These were succeeded in 721 by Merodach-Baladan, who formed an 
alliance with the king of Judah. After the disasters of Sennacherib, 
Merodach endeavoured to rescue his kingdom from its state of depend- 
ence on Assyria; but in this he was unsuccessful, if w r e may judge by 
the weakness and disorder of the monarchy during the reigns of his five 
successors in the short space of seventeen years. 

LYDIA. 

The Lydians were a Pelasgian race, originally called Maeonians, 
from their first monarch Maeon, the epoch of whose reign has been fixed*' 
at 1545 b.c. Three dynasties occupied in succession the throne of 
Lydia : the Atyades, the Heraclidae, and the Mermnadee. The traditions 
of mythology had placed a portion of the adventure's of Hercules in that 
country; and assigned -it as the birthplace of Marsyas, Tantalus, Pel ops, 
Niobe, Arachne, and Omphale. A branch of the Heraclidee succeeded 
the Atyades in 1232, and about 727 b.c. they were followed by the 
Mermnadae, of whom Gyges, grandson of Mermnas, was the first, who 
dethroned and murdered Candaules. The history of the kingdom now 
began to separate from fable, as it gradually increased in riches and 
importance ; and after the expulsion of the Scythians, who in the 7th 
century had invaded and temporarily possessed it, Alyattes ruled over 
the greater part of Asia Minor. A war soon afterwards arose between 
Media and Lydia, during which Babylon remained neuter, and acted as 
mediator in the contest. A memorable battle between the two nations 
was interrupted by a total eclipse of the sun, 30th September 601 b.c. 
Croesus, before ascending the throne, had been associated with his father 
in the government. Wise but ambitious, he greatly extended the power 
of the kingdom, and reduced all the Greek colonies of Asia. Solon the 
philosopher, about 575, and the fabulist JEsop, were entertained at his 
court.j- He declared war against the celebrated Cyrus, who had united 
the Median and Persian monarchies, 559 b. c. ; but although assisted 
by Egypt and Babylon, he was unsuccessful ; his capital, Sardis, was 
taken, and himself made prisoner, 546 b.c. The whole of the Lydian 
dominions fell into the hands of the conqueror, and the nation never 
recovered its independence. 

Tradition ascribes to ihe Lydians the invention of coined money, formed 
from the gold dust of the river Pactolus. They were celebrated for their purple 
garments, their skill in working metal, and their slave markets. 

*The reign of Nabonassar forms an important era in chronology. It was, according 
to Ptolemy, the beginning of the astronomical observations of the Chaldeans. Hence, 
it fixes the date of what is commonly called Ptolemy's Astronomical Canon. The 
method of reducing the years of this era to that employed by Christian nations, will bo 
found in the Companion to the Almanac, 1830. 

fThe chronological objections to the celebrated interview between Croesus and Solon 
maybe removed, if we suppose with Mr. Fvnes Clinton, that Crcesus reigned jointlv 
with his father Alyattes. See also Larcher's Note 73. lib. i. of bis translation of 
Hex idotus. 



52 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

ROME. 

Origin of the Roman people. 

At the period when history begins to throw a few rays of light upon the con- 
dition of Italy, we find it occupied by various tribes, speaking different Ian- 
. and in different degrees of civilisation. The Umbrians, who are 
supposed to have come from Ulyria, had penetrated to the Tiber, and occupied 
both its banks at a very remote era. Between them and the mouth of the 
river, lay the Sicilians ; while in the Apennine chain, near Mount Velino, and 
a the Lake Fucino, dwelt a rude and barbarous people, known by the name 
of Casci or Aborigines (primitive inhabitants). To the east of these were the 
Sabines, whose original abode was the Abruzzi, on the summits of the Apen- 
nines. These people seized on the Umbrian territory, and, in lapse of time, 
extended their frontiers as far as Rome. At this epoch, long before the date 
of the fall of Troy, the Aborigines settled on the south of Umbria, and there 
built cities and towns. The biculana and these mountaineers were continually 
at war; and after long and terrible combats, the Aborigines, assisted by some 
Pelasgian colonists under Evander, vanquished the Siculans, and compelled 
them to take refuge in Trinacria, which afterwards bore the name of Sicily. 
The Pelasgians received their share of the conquered lands; but were in their 
turn subdued and nearly exterminated about the middle of the 12th century 
b. c. The Aborigines remained sole masters of the .country, and were the 
primitive source of the Latin people. They were called Latins, from their king 
Latinus. The poetical traditions relate that iEneas, who had escaped the flames 
of Troy, married Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, and founded Lavinium. 
His son Ascanius is said to have built Alba Longa. Twelve princes reigned 
after him : Procas was the last. His sons Numitor and Amulius made war 
upon each other, and the latter triumphed ; but he was driven from the throne 
by the two grandsons of Numitor, Romulus and Remus, whom the Romans 
supposed to be the offspring of Mars and the vestal Rhea Sylvia. 

The researches of Beaufort and Niebuhr have shaken the credibility of the 
early annals of Rome. But critical scepticism may be carried too far ; for the 
science of history consists not only in the knowledge of truths, but in familiarity 
with all that has been related of the various nations which have figured in the 
world. An acquaintance with what the Romans themselves believed of the 
origin of the city is necessary to enable us to form a correct estimate of their 
character. 

Consult : Arnold's History of Rome. 

Romulus, 753. — The founder of Rome had been a shepherd in his 
youth. After having restored his grandfather Numitor to the throne, he 
settled, with some of his early companions, at a little distance from 
Alba, on the Palatine Hill, and probably on the ruins of a more ancient 
city. By making the new city an asylum for murderers and runaway 
slaves, the population increased. He established laws, divided the 
people into two classes — Patricians and Plebeians, and appointed a senate. 
At the close of a disastrous war with the Sabines, he was compelled to 
share his crown with Tatius, their king, though he soon became sole 
monarch again. After a reign of thirty-seven years he was murdered by 
the senators, who, fearful of the revenge of the populace, gave origin to 
the report that he had been carried up to heaven, and a temple was 
erected to him on the Quirinal hill. Romulus had the good sense to 
adopt many Sabine customs. The Romans always imitated this example 
with respect to the nations they conquered, and it was not the least cause 
of their renown. No people indeed ever rose to pre-eminent greatnes? 
with smaller pretensions to originality. They were indebted to the 
Greeks for every thing except their martial and republican spirit; whi_ 



SEVENTH CENTURY B. C. 53 

many of their laws, customs, and religious ceremonies, together with 
their system of notation, were borrowed from the Etruscans. 

Numa. — An interregnum cf a year followed the death of Romulus, 
after which the senate, fearing to hold the supreme authority any longer, 
chose a Sabine, named Numa Pompilius, for their king. As the former 
had made his people warriors, the latter taught them the arts of peace, 
framed a code of laws modelled on that of Lycurgus, and regulated the 
ceremonies of religious worship. He died after a reign of forty-three 
years, 672 b. c. 



SEVENTH CENTURY. 

JuDiEA.— 698, Manasseh.— 641, Josiah.— 611, Egyptian War.— 606, The Cap 
tivity. 

Assyria. — 667, Nabuehodonosor. — 656, Holofernes slain. — 607, Nebuchad- 
nezzar's Campaigns. 

Media and Persia. — 733, Deioces. — 655, Phraortes defeated at Ragau. — 
648, Scythian Invasion. Zoroaster. 

Egypt. — 671, Dodecarchy. — 656, Psammetichus. — 617, Necho — Africa cir- 
cumnavigated. 

Greece. — 685, Second Messenian War. — 624, Draco — Ephori. 

Rome. — 667, Horatii and Curiatii. — 640, Ancus Martius. — 616, Tarquin the 
Elder. 

Literature. — Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. — 680, Tyrtasus. — 600, Archilochus, 
Alcaeus, Sappho, Epimenides. 

JUD^A. 

End of the Kingdom of Judah. — Manasseh (698), a youth of 
twelve years of age, subverted all the wise institutions of his father 
Hezekiah ; he adored Baal and Moloch, and by his orders Isaiah was 
sawn asunder. During his long reign the Mosaic Law and the worship 
of Jehovah fell into contempt ; and he thereby brought the heaviest mis- 
fortunes on himself and his people. Many prophets appeared, and 
vainly warned the nation of its impending ruin. Esarhaddon at length 
dragged him a prisoner to Babylon, 67f>, as Hoshea king of Israel, 
forty-five years before, had been led to Nineveh. After a captivity of 
one year (or of seven years, according to some critics), he was restored 
to his throne, to become the perfect model of a penitent king ; for he 
purified the temple, destroyed all idols, and re-established the worship 
of the true God. In 656 Nebuchadnezzar I. gave Holofernes the com- 
mand of a numerous army, destined to punish the Jews for refusing 
their assistance against the Medes. But his conquests were arrested by 
the hand of a woman; for while blockading the small hill-fortress of 
Bethulia, he was slain by the enthusiastic Judith. Amon, the wicked 
son of Manasseh, perished by assassination, 641, after a reign of two 
years, and was succeeded by Josiah at the age of eight. Even in child- 
hood this monarch was an example of piety, and he had scarcely com- 
pleted his sixteenth year, when he assumed the government which had 
been administered by his mother Idida. In his time the high-priest 
5* 



ft 4 A1VC1ENT HISTORY. 

Hilkiah discovered the original manuscript of the Iiaw, written by the 
hand of the great legislator himself. To fulfil the engagements he made 
with his people at the public reading of this book, he destroyed every 
vestige of idolatry both in Israel and Judah ; and when he had thus 
purified his land," he celebrated the Passover with great solemnity, 623 
b.c. The misfortunes of the country recommenced with the death of 
Josiah, who was killed in battle at Megiddo while opposing Nechoking 
of Egypt, who being at war with the Assyrians, resolved to pass through 
Palestine. The prophet Jeremiah composed a funeral elegy on his 
death, which continued long afterwards to be sung by the choir in 
certain religious ceremonies. With this prince terminated the glory 
and happiness of the Jewish nation. The people raised Jehoahaz, one 
of his younger sons, to the throne ; but he was deposed by the victorious 
Necho, anoMed prisoner into Egypt. Eliakim, who was appointed in 
his stead, under the name of Jehoiakim, 610, was a weak and irreligious 
ruler; his only virtue being the fidelity with which he paid a heavy 
tribute to the sovereign from whom he had received the crown. Deaf 
to the warnings of Jeremiah and Habakkuk, who announced to Judaea 
the coming danger, he threw the prophecy of the former into the fire, 
and condemned both to die. They escaped his fury by taking refuge in 
a cavern. In 60b' Nebuchadnezzar II. took Jerusalem for the first time, 
and imprisoned, but afterwards released, its monarch. He plundered 
the temple of great part of its sacred vessels, and among his captives 
we read the names of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This 
year, 606, is the first of the Seventy Years' Captivity announced by 
Jeremiah. 

ASSYRIA. 

Second Empire of Nineveh. — Esarhaddon, the third son of Senna- 
cherib, ascended the throne on the murder of his father, 707 b. c. ; and 
he restored to the Assyrian monarchy the strength and glory which it 
had lost during- the misfortunes of the previous reigns. Taking advan- 
tage of the. civil troubles which divided the Babylonians, he reunited 
them to his empire in 680, and until 647 they were governed by Nine- 
vite viceroys. Pie reduced Judaea, and led Manasseh into captivity ; 
but, as already mentioned, after twelve months he restored him to liberty 
and to a kingdom now nearly depopulated. After a reign of forty- two 
years, marked by glorious conquests over Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and 
Ethiopia, he left the sceptre to his son Saosduchin, the Nebuchadnezzar 
or Nabuchodonosor of the book of Judith. In the twelfth year of his 
reign he was attacked by Phraortes, king of the Medes, whom he 
defeated and slew with his own hand, 655. He sent an army of 130,000 
men into Judaea, under the command of Holofernes, who, we have seen, 
perished by the hand of Judith. From this time Saosduchin experienced 
nothing but reverses, and the } r ear preceding his death, he was besieged 
in Nineveh by Oyaxares. He died in the twenty-second year of his 
reign, leaving a tottering throne to his son and successor. 

The vices and cowardice of Saracus (Chynaladanus) produced greater 
trouble and confusion in his dominions. Nabopolassar made himself 
independent at Babylon, where he reigned twenty-one years, and to pre- 
serve his pow r er he formed an alliance with the Medes. The united 



SEVENTH CENTURY B. C. 55 

armies besieged Nineveh, and completely destroyed it, upon which 
Babylon became the sole capital of the Assyrian empire, 625 b. c. 

Second Empire of Babylon. — On the death of Mesessi Mordacus, 
the last of the five obscure successors of Merodach Baladan, the metro- 
polis was, for eight years, a prey to all the evils of anarchy. This 
opportunity was not neglected by the victorious Esarhaddon, and in 680 
he reunited the Babylonian monarchy to that of Nineveh, which had 
now become the most formidable in all Asia. But this preponderance, 
founded on the humiliation of Babylon, was net of long duration; for 
thirty-three years after, Nabopolassar the Chaldean, aided by Cyaxares 
the Mede, vindicated the honour of his country on the smoking ruins of 
Nineveh, and his empire became in its turn the queen of the east. The 
conqueror (625), after the death of Saracus, reunited under his govern- 
ment all the provinces with most of the satrapies that had been depend- 
ent on Nineveh. Such prosperity excited the jealousy of Necho, who 
marched toward the Euphrates with the design of wresting from the 
Assyrian monarch all the country situated on the western bank of that 
river. He was particularly successful, and took the important city of 
Carchemish, with several ether strong places. This encouraged the 
Syrians and the Jews in their attempts to throw off the Babylonian 
yoke ; when Nabopolassar, too far advanced in years to take the field in 
person against the rebels, committed the important charge to his son 
Nebuchadnezzar the Great, whom he had already associated with him 
in the government. This young prince, who had received from nature 
all the qualities of a conqueror, justified the confidence of his father. 
Proceeding against the Egyptian king, he gained a complete victory, 
and recovered all that the other had reduced in the preceding years. 
While laying siege to Jerusalem, which he was destined to capture 
thrice in the course of his reign, he was informed of his parent's death. 
He returned to Babylon to assume the crown, carrying with him a 
numerous train of Jewish captives. 

MEDIA. 
J 

•Deioces, 733 b.c. — Media is a fertile though mountainous country, 
lying between Persia, the Caspian Sea, Assyria, Parthia, and Armenia. 
Its capital was Ecbatana (now Hamadan). Powerful monarchies 
appear to have existed in those parts, but, owing to an inconsistent and 
arbitrary chronology, they can scarcely enter into general history. 
Bactria, by its geographical position, appears marked out for the great 
emporium of south-eastern Asia, and in proportion as we penetrate into 
ancient times, we become convinced that, like Babylon, it was one of 
thjl earliest seats of international commerce, and one of the cradles of 
civilisation. The term Media comprehended this country as it was 
applied generally to the nations between the Tigris and the Indus. 

From the earliest period the Medes had been subject to Assyria, when, 
in 759, under the command of Arbaces, they revolted against Sardana- 
palus, and recovered their independence. But their liberty degenerated 
into anarchy, until a sense of the necessity of public order induced 
them, in the year 733, to place Deioces on the throne. During his 
glorious reign of fifty-three years, he united the six tribes, of which the 
Magi were the chief, and founded an independent sovereignty. Phraortes 



56 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

(probably the Arphaxad of the book of Judith), who succeeded him in 
680, reduced Persia, and conquered all the country north of the Taurus 
as far as the river Halys. He was defeated and killed by Nebuchad- 
nezzar I. (Saosduchin) in his war against Assyria, 655. Cyaxares I. 
undertook to avenge his father's death, and was on the point of captur- 
ing Nineveh, when he was obliged to turn his arms against a more 
terrible enemy, the Scythians, who, having overrun Asia, had reached 
the borders of Egypt, 648. It took twenty-eight years to expel them, 
after which he declared war against the Lydian Alyattes, for having 
received and protected some of the chiefs who had escaped from the 
general massacre of their comrades. A battle fought on the banks of 
the Halys, was terminated by an eclipse of the sun, 601 b. c* The 
Medes had now regained their importance, for, united with the Baby- 
lonian Nabopolassar, they had destroyed Nineveh, 625, and reduced the 
Persians to subjection. Cyaxares I. died in 595, in the sixty-first year 
of his reign, leaving to his son Astyages the greatest and most powerful 
monarchy in Asia. In his time the history of Media becomes confused 
with that of Persia and of Cyrus. 

We may here observe that the frequent revolutions in Asia, both of ancient 
and modern times, were never beneficial to the people. Governments often 
changed hands, but the form was always the same ; and all except that effected 
by Alexander were the work of powerful nomad tribes. Impelled by fortui- 
tous circumstances or by necessity, they quitted their wild abodes to subjugate 
the fertile plains of Southern Asia, until, enervated by the luxury and effe- 
minacy of their new subjects, they were themselves conquered in the same 
manner. This consideration on the common origin of the great empires of the 
East, accounts for their vast extent, their rapid increase, and brief duration. 
The internal constitution of these states was everywhere the same : an 
unlimited despotism which, springing from the rights of conquest, was per- 
petuated, because the very extent of the empire required, for the interests of 
the prince at least, a similar government to preserve the unity of the state. 

PERSIA. 

Persia, called Elam in the Scriptures, received its name from the 
eldest son of Shem. Its history is a blank down to the reign of Che- 
dorlaomer, who, about a century before the presumed time in which 
Ninus laid the foundations of Assyrian greatness, had already carried 
his victorious arms towards the Mediterranean, in the western provinces 
of Asia. The power of the Elamites yielded to that of Ninus and 
Semiramis, and the country became a province of the vast empire of 
Assyria. They aided the Medians and Babylonians in their attempts 
to overthrow the government of Sardanapalus, but were still dependent 
on the two newly-formed monarchies. The ten tribes of Israel were 
distributed among the Persians and Medes ; and although the extensive 
dominion of Nebuchadnezzar II. embraced the former people within its 
limits, the bonds of subjection do not appear to have been very oppres- 
sive. Under the rule of the Medes the condition of Persia was very 
little changed. Eastern writers have endeavoured to fill up the void in 

* The period of this eclipse is by no means a settled point, and the compiler had to 
select from six different dates: 607; 603; HOI, the date assigned by Usher ; 597, very 
often given ; 585, total over the whole Hellespont, and not improbably that mentioned 
by Herodotus- and 581 b. c. 



SEVENTH CENTUIIY B. C. 57 

its early history ; but their works, composed in the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries a. n., are little more than a web of fabulous traditions. 
Their testimony can have no weight in the balance of historical criti- 
cism, and in all their annals the only personage who appears to be 
really historical is Jemsheed o'r Giamschid, probably the Achaemenes 
whom the Greeks counted among the ancestors of Cyrus. 

At the epoch of their subjection to the Medes, the Persians were a 
mountain race, divided into ten castes or tribes. The mrst considerable 
were the Pasargadae, the Maraphians, and Maspians, all composed of 
nobles and warriors ; and the first, of whom the Acheemenidse were a 
branch, were always in possession of the government. Of the other 
tribes, three were composed of labourers and four of shepherds. 

Being descended from Shem, the Elamites preserved longer their 
ancient religion. They built no temples, but worshipped, in the open 
air and on the tops of mountainsAthe sun {Mithras) or fire, as an 
emblem of the Supreme Being. /Fhey also venerated the stars and 
planets. The adoration of the heavenly bodies (Sabaism) is supposed 
to have been a corruption of the Magian doctrines : both however appear 
to have been known to Job. The former is perpetuated in Asia by the 
Parsees and Ghebers. 

The Magian doctrine endeavoured to account for the existence of evil, 
by the notion (afterwards adopted by the Manichees) of two first causes, 
principles or gods, of Good and Evil. The name is derived from the 
Magi, a sacerdotal caste of the Medes, who introduced their peculiar 
opinions into Persia. This doctrine was reformed by Zoroaster or Zer- 
dusht. Four persons of this name are mentioned in ancient authors ; 
but the best known, and perhaps the only one who ever existed, was 
born in Media about the same time as Cyrus. Sent in early life to 
Judaea, he studied the books of Moses and Solomon, and became 
acquainted with the prophecies concerning Cyrus. Returning to his 
own country, he retired to a lonely cavern, in which he wrote the jSvesta, 
or as it is generally called, the Zendavesta, from being written in the 
Zend language, the sacred dialect of the Parsees. In this work, which 
contains tenets of the highest wisdom and the purest morals, the Two 
Principles are reduced to the rank of subordinate angels, and the exist- 
ence of one independent and self-existing deity is acknowledged, as also 
the salvation of man by faith from the power of Arimanes or Satan. 
These doctrines appear to have been adopted in Persia by the nobler 
tribes alone. The magi preserved the sacred fire which Zoroaster 
brought to Media, and which he is said to have received from heaven. 
His favourite maxim was, that evil followed good, as the shadow the 
substance. 

EGYPT. 

Psammetichus. — The period between the sixteenth and tenth centu- 
ries, although disturbed by anarchy, was the most prosperous in the 
history of this kingdom. In the Holy Scriptures we find a few scattered 
notices of Egyptian affairs, such as the marriage of Solomon with the 
king's daughter, and the invasion of Judaea by Shishak in 971, B.C. 
The tide of conquest now rolled down the Nile, the Ethiopians under 
Sabacus '•ose to great power, 770, and a dynasty of three kings reigned 
ir succession en the united throne of Egypt and Ethiopia. Various 



58 A.NCIKXT HISTORY. 

revolutions followed, until Psammetiehus of Sais obtained the supreme 
power, about 656 b. c. He had been a member of the dodccarchy, or 
government of twelve sovereign princes, among whom the country had 
been divided, 671. Quarrels springing up among them, they expelled 
him, but lie soon after returned, and, aided by Greek mercenaries, put 
his rivals to flight. In consideration of the fidelity and military services 
of the strangers who had helped' him to his throne, he kept many of 
them about him as a standing army, and honoured them with his confi- 
dence. At this the warrior-caste took umbrage, and, to the number of 
200,000, retired into Ethiopia. In his reign commerce flourished, and 
strangers were allowed freely to visit the Egyptian ports. 

The accession of Psammetiehus to the sole sovereignty of Egypt is an im- 
portant epoch, and the termination of historical uncertainty. Greek writers 
now furnish us with a detailed history of the country, no ionger founded on 
figurative inscriptions or allegorical traditions; and henceforward the Scriptures 
also give us the names and characters ofthe Egyptian princes, whom we easily 
recognise in the Greek narratives. In this reign the interpreters became a 
distinct class, alphabetical writing came into general use, and the science of 
hieroglyphics was gradually forgotten. Egypt now became and continued a 
single empire, with its seat of government at Memphis. Down to this time v 
no Egyptian king, with the exception of Sesostris, had appeared animated with 
a military spirit ; but after Psammetiehus, the various princes felt the necessity 
of becoming warriors and creating a maritime power. The enlightened 
administration of Psammetiehus made Egypt flourish without overloading the 
people with taxes. He was partial to the Greeks, and formed an alliance with 
the Athenians. Although his subjects, blinded by prejudice, did not second 
his extended views, he is not the less one ofthe most estimable sovereigns that 
ever governed the nation. 

Pharaoh-Necho, 617-601. — The son and successor of Psammetiehus 
would have been an extraordinary ruler in any age. He formed exten- 
sive plans of conquest; subdued all Asia, as far as the Euphrates ; took 
Catchemish (Circesium,) the key of Syria and Palestine, and placed in 
it a strong garrison (610.) His march through Judah was opposed by 
Josiah, who was slain in battle, and his kingdom treated as a subject 
country. He attempted to join the Nile to the Red Sea by a canal, 
ninety-six miles in length ; in which unsuccessful labour 120,000 work- 
men are said to have perished.* At his command a Phoenician fleet 
sailed from the Arabian Gulf, circumnavigated Africa, and returned in 
three years by the Straits of Gibraltar, twenty-one centuries before 
Yasco de Gama doubled the Cape of Good Hope (1497 a. d.) In 606 
Nebuchadnezzar II. defeated and pursued the Egyptian monarch, when 
all his conquests beyond the frontiers were lost. Necho died after a 
reign of sixteen years, leaving the throne to his son Psammis, 601 b. c 

GREECE. 

Draco. — The example of Sparta, and their own internal dissensions 
inspired the Athenians with a desire for a regular constitution, the 
framing of which was committed to the hands of Draco, chief archon 



*This work was completed by the Persians, but turned out to be of little practical 
benefit. Many learned men have doubted the existence of a communication by water 
between the two seas; but the testimony of ancient writers is too positive against 
them. Attempts have been made, at various times, down to the present day, to eleae 
out the bed of the canal, which is still visible. 



SEVENTH CENTURY B. C. 59 

that year (624,) a man as rigidly severe as he was inflexibly just. The 
code he drew up was said to be written in blood, death being the penalty 
of the lowest as well as of the highest crimes. It naturally fell into 
contempt and desuetude, when at length the contests of the aristocratic 
parties, and the better regulation of the religious worship by the Cretan 
Epimenides, prepared the way for Solon. From the three classes, which 
existed in the time of Theseus, the nobles, labourers, and artizans, 
appear to have been derived the same number of political factions which 
now divided Athens. The mountaineers or Diacrians advocated an 
absolute democracy ; the rich inhabitants of the plains, or Pedians, 
desired an aristocracy ; while the Paralians, who dwelt along the shores, 
favoured a mixed government, in which the people had the right of 
suffrage, and the executive power was placed in the hands of a few 
individuals. The intolerable abuses of the magistracy, and the rapacity 
of their own creditors, drove the people at last into insurrection. They 
elected a chief, threw open the prisons, and with arms in their hands 
demanded a partition of the land, the abolition of all debts, and a new 
order of government. Civil war was on the point of breaking out, 
when Solon was chosen archon, and appointed supreme arbiter and 
legislator of the republic, 594 b. c. 

Messenian Wars. — A trifling quarrel between the Spartans and 
Messenians, who had been long at variance with each other, gave rise 
in 743 to the First War of twenty years, which ended to the disadvan- 
tage of the latter. Messenia, lying in the south-west of the Pelopon- 
nesus, was a fertile country with great maritime advantages. The 
wise Nestor is supposed to have ruled in one of its cities ; and his 
descendants were driven from the throne by the Dorian followers of the 
Heraclidse. The people were a simple, agricultural race, but not defi- 
cient in warlike virtues. In the year 773, an insult offered to a band 
of Spartan virgins by some Messenian youths, led to the first serious 
misunderstanding between the respective states. Hostilities did not 
break out until thirty years after, when Polychares, indignant that 
punishment had not been inflicted on the murderer of his son, in a wild 
spirit of retaliation killed several Lacedaemonians, 743. In the early 
part of the war, fortune was on the side of Messenia, Aristodemus hav- 
ing restored the fainting spirits of his countrymen by the sacrifice of his 
daughter. Shortly after the battle of Ithome, 730, he was elected to 
the vacant throne, and made frequent and destructive incursions into the 
Laconian territory. In 725, the Spartans prepared for a decisive strug- 
gle, but it was prolonged until 723, when Aristodemus had fallen by 
his own hand on the tomb of his immolated child. Ithome was taken 
and rased to the ground ; the Messenians were condemned to a yearly 
tribute of half their crops, and to be present in deep mourning at the 
interment of the Spartan kings. For thirty-nine years they remained in 
subjection, when the Second War broke out, 685, under the conduct of 
the famous Aristomenes, whose adventures are so romantic as to throw 
doubt upon the whole history of his campaigns. The Spartans, headed 
by the lame Athenian schoolmaster Tyrtaeus, and cheered by his songs, 
were eventually successful, after besieging the stronghold of Ira during 
eleven years ; and the Messenians who did not abandon their country, 
made a numerous addition to the Helots or Laconian slaves. Aristo- 
menes escaped, and died at Rhodes. He was the worthy precursor of 



60 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Epaminondas, and we can scarcely find in history two nobler and purer 
characters than these two great men. The Third Messenian war 
occurred in the fifth century b. c, and was terminated by the surrender 
of Ithome. 

Read : Buhver's Athens, book. I. chap. vi. § 16 ; and Travels of Anacharsis, 
ch. xi. 

The colony of Tarentum in Italy was founded shortly after the first Mes- 
senian war, by the Parihenias from Sparta, 707, a mixed race of Spartan and 
Lacedaemonian blood, who had revolted because their legal illegitimacy 
excluded them from citizenship. 

In Lacedaemon, during these wars, the Ephori had been created as 
vicegerents of the kings, and it is worthy of note, that while the sove- 
reignties of Judah and Israel were falling into ruin, the states of Greece 
were gradually preparing for their glorious course of mental and physi- 
cal greatness. At this time Massilia (Marseilles), Byzantium, and 
Cyrene, were founded ; and the Gauls established themselves in Northern 
Italy. 

ROME. 

Horatii and Curiatii, b. c. 667. — Numa was succeeded by Tullus 
Hostilius (672), who sought to rival the military glory of Romulus. 
In a war against the Albans took place the celebrated combat between 
the champions of Rome and those of Alba, the three Horatii and the 
three Curiatii. The former were victorious, the city of Alba was laid 
waste, and the population transferred to Rome, which thus became the 
capital of the united nations. On the death of Hostilius, which was 
occasioned by lightning, Ancus Martius was elected king, 640 b. c. 
He was the grandson of Numa, whose religious institutions he attempted 
to revive ; and although not unsuccessful in war, he derived the title of 
" the Good" from his works of peace. He raised temples, instituted the 
fetial law, fortified the city, enlarged its territorial possessions, dug 
quarries, formed salt-works, built the port of Ostia at the mouth of the 
Tiber, and laid the foundations of the Roman commerce and maritime 
power. 

Tarquin the Elder, or Prisms, 616 e. c, was an Etrurian of Greek 
extraction; and his genius, education, and wealth, were the cause of his 
election to the throne of Ancus. He defeated the Latins and Sabines, 
the inveterate enemies of early Rome, and first assumed the regal fasces 
and purple robe. He also increased the number of the senate to 300. 
Among his public works are the vast sewers, which exist uninjured to 
the present day. He laid out the Circus and the Forum, and began to 
surround the city with a wall of massy stones. He died a violent death, 
578 b. c. 

Observation. — Although the personal existence of Romulus may be 
rejected, and the history of Numa doubted, there are some things in that of 
Tullus Hostilius which bear the mark of truth, however disguised by their 
legendary form. Alba was destroyed by the Latins, with whom the Romans, 
as living in the Latin territory, may have been allied. The tribe Luceres was 
added to the patrician body, as distinct from the plebeian estate. With Ancus, 
a new order of citizens, the Plebs, appears — a class of men personally inde- 
pendent, but not sharing in the government. 



SIXTH CENTURY B.C. 61 

SIXTH CENTURY. 

Judaea. — 536, End of the Captivity.— 515, Second Temple built. 

Assyfia P 504 ' Nebuchadnezzar. — 570, Loses his Reason. — 538, Belshazzar — 

i j End of the kingdom of Babylon. 
Persia I 561 ' Cyrus e ^ ec[e ^ King. — 559, Aids Cyaxares. — 538, Babylon 

taken. — 529, Cambyses. — 521, Darius. 
Egypt. — 594, Apries. — 569, Amasis. — 525, Psammenitus, last native king. 
Greece. — 594, Solon, archon. — 560, Pisistratus. — 514, Harmodius and Aris- 

togiton. 
Rome. — 578, Servius Tullius. — 534, Tarquin II. — 509, Consuls — Constitution 

of Rome. 
China. — 550, Confucius born. 
Literature.— The Seven Wise Men ; Mimnermus, Thespis, iEsop, Theog- 

nis, Pythagoras, Anacreon. 
Discoveries. — Geographical Maps ; Terrestrial Globes, by Anaximander. — 

560, Marble employed (at Athens) for Statues. — 540, Monochord, Terrestrial 

Revolution, by Pythagoras. — 552, Corinthian Capital, by Callimachus. — 

520, Sun-dials, by Anaximenes of Miletus. 

JUDAEA. . 

In 603, Jehoiakim, relying upon the support of the Egyptian monarch, 
revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, who immediately sent an army into 
Judaea. He followed in person in 599, when he killed the king as a 
rebel, and threw his body into the fields unburied ; thus fulfilling the 
prediction of Jeremiah, xxii. 19. Jehoiachin was then placed on the 
throne, from which he was dragged at the end of three months, and led 
captive to Babylon, together with more than 10,000 companions in mis- 
fortune, the strength and the hope of the nation. Ezekiel was now a 
second time carried away into bondage ; Jeremiah remained behind to 
console, but in vain, the remnant of the people. Zedekiah, the uncle 
of the deposed prince, was chosen to fill his place, but he proved more 
wicked than his predecessors. In 590, being the ninth year of his 
reign, he revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, and refused to pay the 
tribute imposed by this conqueror. His alliance with Pharaoh-Hophra 
proved of no avail : the Egyptian ruler retired before the Assyrian army, 
which immediately blockaded Jerusalem. The denunciations of Jere- 
miah, which had filled the city with consternation, could not ward off 
the impending fate; and after the city had endured the worst calamities 
of hunger, it was taken in a night-attack, and given up to fire and sword, 
588 b. c. The degraded king, having seen his wives and children slain 
before his face, had his eyes put out, and in that miserable condition 
was sent to a foreign prison, to be a living testimony of the truth of 
prophecy. [Jerem. xxiv. 8; xxvii. 12. Ezekiel, xii. 13.] All the 
Jewish people were transported to Babylon, the poorest class alone 
being left to cultivate the land. During fifty-two years, the sacred 
metropolis remained in the state in which Nebuzar-adan had left it; 
that is, until it was rebuilt by the Jews, who were allowed to return 
under the decree of Cyrus, 53G. 




62 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Second Temple. — In the first year of his reign, the Persian con- 
queror allowed a colony of Jews, under Zerubbabel, of the family of 
David, to return to the land of their forefathers, 53G b. c. They did not 
exceed 50,000, the more wealthy portion preferring to remain in tran- 
quillity and ease in Babylon, where they had become very numerous. 
The building of the temple, which occupied many years, was violently 
opposed by the Samaritans, to whom the colony was a source 01 
expense. But it was completed in the reign of Darius Hystaspes, 
515. 

The Babylonian captivity entirely cured the descendants of Jacob of 
their idolatrous propensities, and they never after swerved from the 
worship of the true God. From this period Hebrew ceased to be the 
spoken language of the Jews, having been displaced by the Chaldee, 
varying little from it, and in which part of the Book of Daniel is 
written. This gradually changed into the Syro-Chaldaic, the Jewish 
tongue mentioned in the New Testament. 

Remarks. — In examining the conduct of God towards his chosen people, we 
shall find continually fresh subjects of admiration. After having renewed to 
Abraham the promise which he had made to our general father Adam ; after 
having announced to the holy patriarch, as the recompense of his faith and 
virtue, that from him and his son Isaac should one day be born that holy Being 
—the expectation of his posterity and the Saviour of the World ; after having 
multiplied the race of Israel, God selected from the tribe of Judah the house 
of Jesse, the father of David, as that from which the Messiah was to spring. 
In spite of the deplorable revolution which separated the ten rebel tribes from 
that of Judah ; in spite of the backslidings of most of the kings who succeeded 
Rehoboam ; in spite of the calamities which God inflicted upon them, and 
which seemed to threaten the complete extinction of their house, the family of 
David still survived on the throne, while that of Israel was continually occu- 
pied by new families. A still more admirable sight is that alternation of glory 
and humiliation, of rewards and punishments, the almost invariable accompani- 
ments of the 'good or bad conduct of the monarch and people of Judah. Thus 
the proceedings of that Providence which, often with profound and secret 
views, is hidden from our eyes, are made a continual proof of the watchfulness 
of God over his people, an ever-visible manifestation of his designs toward 
them and the surrounding nations, and the most striking demonstration of his 
sovereign power, wisdom, and justice. 

Mordecai and Esther. — Ahasuerus, king of Persia (either Xerxes 
or Artaxerxes Longimanus), divorced his wife Vashti, and supplied her 
place by the pious and amiable Esther, niece of Mordecai the Jew. As 
the fortune and credit of the uncle increased, that of Haman the favourite 
and chief minister declined. He therefore meditated the total destruc- 
tion of the Jewish nation ; and their happy deliverance, by the firmness 
of Esther, is still yearly commemorated by the feast of Purim. Haman 
fell into the snare he had laid for his enemies, and was hung on the 
gibbet which he had prepared for Mordecai. 

ASSYRIA. 

Nebuchadnezzar, 604-561 b. c. — This monarch's reign comprehends 
the most brilliant period of the Chaldaeo-Babylonian empire. This 
golden head of the prophetic image conquered Palestine, Idumea, 
Ammon, and Moab, utterly destroyed the Syrian power, and subjugated 
Persia. He had already taken most of the Phoenician towns, when the 
Tyrians retired from their city on the mainland to the adjoining islet, on 



SIXTH CENTUKY B. C. 63 

which their more modern capital was built. Among other changes, this 
oeople altered their form of government, and appointed judges in the 
place of a king. Egypt suffered next at the hand of the conqueror ; he 
spread fire and sword from Palestine to the borders of Ethiopia. Re- 
turning to Babylon, he patronised the arts, commerce, and industry ; 
and completed those masterpieces of gigantic architecture, which may 
with greater probability be attributed to him than to any of his ances- 
tors. During his reign, Daniel prophesied, and acquired great renown 
by the interpretation of the king's dream, which the Chaldean astrolo- 
gers could not explain. In accordance with the prediction, for seven 
years he was afflicted with hypochondriacal madness (lycanthropy) ; 
fancying himself transformed into an ox, he fed on grass in the manner 
of cattle. His reason returning to him, 563 b. c, he remounted the 
throne, when, for a short time, he became more powerful than ever; and 
dying after a reign of forty-three years, he was regarded by the Assy- 
rians as one of the greatest of their kings. But Evil-Merodach, his 
son, who was weak and tyrannical, soon rendered himself odious by 
his cruelty and debauchery. While regent during his father's madness, 
he committed so many excesses, that the latter, on his recovery, was 
compelled to imprison him, although without any hope of his being 
corrected by such chastisement. He was not without some good quali- 
ties, and history records with pleasure one trait of humanity in him — 
he liberated Jehoiachin from the prison in which he had been confined 
thirty-seven years. Neriglissar ascended a throne which he had stained 
by the murder of his brother-in-law, 559. This warlike prince infused 
new vigour into the Assyrian monarchy. He subdued Hyrcania ; 
carried his victorious arms into Syria and Arabia ; and formed an alli- 
ance with Croesus against the rising power of Media. He fell in a 
battle which he waged with Cyrus, and was succeeded by his son, 
Laborasoarchad, 555, who was slain by his subjects after a reign of nine 
months. The royal line was restored in the person of Labynetus, 
known also as Nabonadius, Naboandel, and Belshazzar. While the 
king gave himself up to luxury and pleasure, his mother, the wise 
Nitoeris, the true Semiramis, held the reins of government with a firm 
nand. By her management, Babylon was fortified against the attacks 
of the Medes, and an alliance renewed with the king of Lydia against 
the menacing progress of the Persian prince. They collected an army 
of 420,000 men, which was defeated at Thymbra, 545. About five 
vears later, Babylon was invested by Cyrus, and taken by a remarkable 
stratagem, on that fatal night when the mysterious writing on the wall 
told that the "kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Per- 
sians," fifty years after the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The history of the last of the Babylonian kings is not without difficulty. 
The name of Belshazzar not occurring in profane history, it has been applied 
to many different sovereigns. Evil-Merodach, and not Neriglissar, is said to 
have fallen in battle against the Medes ; and Belshazzar was his immediate 
successor. Hales disputes the statement which makes Babylon to have been 
taken by the Medes and Persians on the same night that Belshazzar was slain, 
and considers that he fell in a conspiracy ; and that, on the death of his son 
Laborasoarchad, nine months after, the dynasty became extinct, and Darius 
the Mede (Cyaxares) peaceably succeeded. Nabonadius had been appointed 
viceroy ; he revolted against Cyrus, 551, who, otherwise occupied, deferred 
his attack on Babylon until 536, which he then took by a remarkable stratagem. 



64 ANCIENT HISTORVT. 

PERSIA. 

Cyrus the Great. — After the taking of Babylon,* Cyaxares II. 
(Darius the Mede|) divided his vast states into a hundred and twenty 
satrapies, and made them accountable to three ministers, of whom 
Daniel was one. The Persian and Median nobles, jealous of the eleva- 
tion of a foreigner, endeavoured to destroy him by that plot which ended 
by his being thrown into the lions' den, and his miraculous deliverance 
from the fury of the hungry beasts. This striking testimony of Al- 
mighty power was followed by a decree, in which the monarch acknow- 
ledged the God of the prophet. This act was the precursor of the edict 
which his successor published in favour of the Jews, in the first year 
of his reign. Cyaxares died in 536, leaving all his dominions to his 
nephew Cyrus, who inherited about the same time the sceptre of his 
father Cambyses, king of Persia. 

The first year of his reign was marked by the termination of the 
Jewish captivity, when Zerubbabel, as prince of Judah, returned to 
Palestine, accompanied with about 50,000 of the tribes of Judah, Ben- 
jamin, and Levi. Cyrus reigned seven years over all Asia, and died 
530 b. c. His military and political career began about 560, when he 
first quitted Persia with the command of an army. — Thus far the testi- 
mony of Scripture has been followed ; the blanks remain to be filled up 
from the contradictory accounts of the Greek historians 

Astyages, the son and successor of Cyaxares I., king of the Medes, 
was an indolent, superstitious, and cruel prince. His grandson Cyrus, 
by his. daughter Mandane, was ordered to be exposed, to prevent the 
fulfilment of an oracle ; but the future monarch of Asia was, like another 
Paris or QEdipus, preserved by the humanity of a shepherd. Arrived at 
maturity, he threw off the Median yoke and defeated Crcesus, who had 
taken up arms in behalf of the dethroned prince. He afterwards made 
rapid conquests in Upper Asia, and took Babylon after a siege of two 
years, by turning the current of the river, and entering by its exhausted 
channel. £ Previously to his marching against the Scythians, he nomi- 

* [On that fatal night in which the mysterious writing appeared on the wall, Belshazzar 
was killed according to the general account, by Cyrus, who then succeeded by his 
famous stratagem in entering Babylon. There is. however, another account of the 
matter supported by the authority of Dr. Hales, and followed apparently by this 
author. According to this theory, Belshazzar, on that night, was slain in a domestic 
conspiracy, and was succeeded by his son. His son died after a reign of nine months, 
and with him the dynasty became extinct. Cyaxares I., or Darius the Mede, suc- 
ceeded peaceably to the throne. He was succeeded by Astyages, and Astyages by 
Cyaxares II., also called Darius the Mede, under whose reign Daniel continued to 
flourish. This Cyaxares II., on his death, willed his dominions to his nephew Cyrus, 
but appointed a viceroy to administer affairs until Cyrus should himself take possession 
of the throne. The viceroy revolted, and it was in reducing him to subjection that 
Cyrus executed his famous stratagem for entering Babylon. — Am. Ed.] 

f Darius, in Hebrew, Dara?nesh, is not a proper name, but, like Pharaoh, a title of 
dignity. It is derived from Dara, which in Persian signifies a king. 

| The walls of Babylon were 87 feet broad, 350 feet high, and 60 miles in circumfer 
ence. To reconcile the accounts of sacred and profane history of the foundation and 
improvement of this wonder of the world, we may suppose that it was founded by 
Nnnrod and enlarged by Belus ; that Semiramis improved and adorned it with beautiful 
buildings ; and that Nebuchadnezzar the Great raised it to its latter state of astonishing 
magnificence. 



SIXTH CENTURY B.C. 65 

nated his son Cambyses to succeed him, and admitted him to a share of 
the regal power. After a few partial successes, he perished in battle, 
and his dead body was mutilated by order of the Scythian queen, 
Tomyris. 

Three Greek historians have furnished us with the particulars of the life 
of the Great Cyrus, namely, Herodotus, born about 484 b. c. ; Ctesias, who 
was, during seventeen years, the chief physician of the mother of Artaxerxes 
Mnemon; and Xenophon, who fought at Cunaxa under Cyrus the younger. 
Next to the Scripture narration that of Herodotus has been preferred, from 
the impossibility of combining their several histories in one complete whole. 
For instance, Herodotus and Ctesias entirely omit the reign of Cyaxares II., 
son of Astyages, who is spoken of in Xenophon, and attested by Scripture ; 
Ctesias makes no mention of the taking of Babylon, confirmed by Herodotus, 
Xenophon, and the Old Testament. 1 he biography by Xenophon is generally 
supposed to be a work of fiction, not unlike the modern historical romance, in 
which Cyrus is made the vehicle of the lessons of morality intended to be con- 
veyed by the writer. The dominions of this remarkable king extended from 
the Mediterranean and Egypt to the Indian Ocean, and from Ethiopia to the 
Euxine and Caspian Seas Brerewood estimates the wealth he acquired by 
his conquests at 126^ millions sterling. The extraordinary prophecies con- 
cerning him contained in the holy Scriptures, and which were not unknown to 
him, may not unreasonably be supposed to have had a powerful effect on his 
mind; and Dr. Hales concludes, that he lived and died the death of the 
righteous. 

Cambyses (529), the eldest son of Cyrus, succeeded to his father's 
throne ; Smerdis, the younger, became governor of Bactria. The former 
invaded and subjugated Egypt in the space of six months. He formed 
the project of subduing Carthage, conquering Ethiopia, and seizing 
upon the Temple of Jupiter Amnion ; but his expeditions were unfor- 
tunate, and his armies perished in the sand of the deserts. These dis- 
asters irritated a character naturally impetuous; and hence, regardless of 
the feelings of the Egyptians, he killed with his own hand the bull 
Apis, scourged the priests, caused his brother to be assassinated, and 
inflicted a blow upon his sister, who was also his wife, which proved 
fatal. The end of his reign was menaced by a singular conspiracy. 
While on his return from Egypt, he heard that the Magi had elevated 
an impostor, Smerdis, to the throne, as the brother of Cambyses, who 
bore the same name. Leaping hastily upon his horse as the news was 
told him, the scabbard fell from his sword, whereby he received a wound 
in the thigh, of which he died, 521 b. c. The imposture was speedily 
discovered, the pretender was put to death, and an indiscriminate mas- 
sacre of the Magi took place. We must be careful how we give credit 
to all that is related of Cambyses, since our information is derived 
chiefly from his enemies, the Egyptian priests. 

Darius I. Hystaspes, 521. — When this member of the family of the 
Achaemenides succeeded to the throne, his seven coadjutors, in the 
destruction of Smerdis, the usurping magian, received the most dis- 
tinguished honours. They were allowed free access to the king; they 
wore distinctive caps, and had the priority of speeech in council. 
Darius, who was a prince of great political wisdom, inferior to Cyrus 
alone of all the Persian kings, favoured the Jews, and allowed the Tem- 
ple to be completed, 515. Babylon, which had revolted, was recovered 
after a long siege by the devotion of Zopyrus. He broke up the Ionian 
confederation, established his sovereignty over Thrace and Macedonia, 
6* 



66 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

in Western India, and in Africa, but was defeated in his Scythian inva- 
sion, 513. In Greece, his troops were overthrown on the celebrated 
field of Marathon, 490. 

During- this reign, the Persians forsook their nomad life, and con- 
tinued the building of the Persepolitan palace, which was begun by 
Cyrus and completed by Xerxes. Although Darius weakened the 
empire by his foreign wars, he improved its internal organisation by 
dividing it into twenty satrapies, corresponding with the various tribu- 
tary races, and by imposing a regular tax instead of the voluntary gifts 
which each province had hitherto contributed.* He expired 485 b. r., 
after nominating for his successor, Xerxes I., grandson of Cyrus, and 
son of his second wife, the celebrated Atossa. 

EGYPT. 

Psammis, who had ascended the throne on the death of Necho (601), 
perished in the sixth year of his reign, immediately after an expedition 
into Ethiopia. His successor Apries, the Pharaoh-Hophra of Scripture, 
planned the conquest of Asia, besieged Sidon, fought a naval battle 
with the Tyrians, reduced nearly all Phoenicia and Palestine, but failed 
in his expedition against Cyrene. His subjects being averse to foreign 
wars carried on by mercenary troops, revolted against him, and offered 
the crown to Amasis, an officer alike popular with the people and the 
army. The king retired to Upper Egypt, where he long maintained his 
power, while the usurper was acknowledged by the rest of the country. 
Availing himself of this civil war, Nebuchadnezzar II. invaded and 
devastated Egypt, which did not recover from the effects of his ravages 
during the next forty years. Apries was at last defeated, and taken 
prisoner, when he was strangled by order of the conqueror. With 
him terminated the family of Psammetiehus, 569 b. c. [See Ezekiel, 
xxix.] Amasis contrived by conciliating the priests to strengthen him- 
self on the throne. He married a Greek woman, and permitted her 
countrymen to establish a factory at Naucratis, on the Canopic branch 
of the Nile. He contributed largely to the rebuilding of the Temple 
of Delphi, and was the only Egyptian king who subdued Cyprus. 
Pythagoras, Solon, and Thales, are supposed to have visited the banks 
of the Nile during this reign; and assuredly, that country was never 
more happy than under his government. He restored the division into 
names „• revived many ancient regulations, which had fallen into neglect 
during the preceding troubles ; and instituted a yearly census of all his 
subjects. He reigned forty-four years, and died just as Cambyses was 
preparing to invade his kingdom. 

Six months after Psammenitus ha 1 ascended the throne, 525, a Per- 
sian army invaded the districts on both sides of the Nile. A single 
battle before Pelusium decided the fate of Egypt, and the king shortly 
after falling into the hands of the conqueror, was put to death. With 

* The taxes paid in money, and collected by the satraps for the king's privy-purse, 
amounted to nearly three millions and a half of sterling money. Besides which, the pro- 
vinces had to pay the king's household, maintain the troops, and all the expenses of the 
government. The royal treasures were deposited in various cities, called Oazm ; such 
wen- Fersepolis, Susa, and Pasargada. The gold and silver amassed in the form of 
ingots, were coined as occasion required. The principal gold piece was the Daric 
from the name of the first king, Darius, who had caused it to be struck. 



SIXTH CENTUKY K. c. 67 

him perished the 26th royal race that had governed the country since 
Menes. ]t remained subject to Persia, with few exceptions, until the 
conquests of Alexander, on whose death a new monarchy arose, founded 
by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, 323 e. c, which subsisted until the death 
of Cleopatra, 30 b. c, when Egypt was made a Roman province. Thus 
was the prophecy of Ezekiel fulfilled — there shall be no more a prince of 
the kind of Egypt. It has ever since been governed by foreign rulers, 
— Romans, Saracens, Mamelukes, and Turks. 

GREECE. 

Solon of Salamis, who was elected archon of Athens, 594 b. c, had 
the difficult task of reconciling opposing factions, and of restoring tran- 
quillity to the state. He divided the people into four classes, accord- 
ing to their property, and laid the foundations of that democracy which 
was afterwards the cause of so much unmingled evil. The thetes, or 
lowest class, occupy a more conspicuous station in history than the 
higher ones, for the sovereignty of the state resided in their assemblies, 
and they filled nearly every office in the courts of justice. The checks 
on the mischief incidental to all popular meetings were the Senate of 
400 (afterwards 500), and the court of Areopagus ; the first consisting 
of aged, wealthy, and respectable citizens ; the other forming the true 
aristocracy of Athens, whose degradation by Ephialtes, in the time of 
Pericles, was considered by Isocrates as the principal cause of all the 
demoralization which subsequently tcok place in the state. 

Solon began with the abolition of all debts, the reduction of the rate of 
interest to 12 per cent., and by enacting that the insolvent debtor should neither 
be reduced to slavery by his creditors, nor be compelled to sell his children. 
He next declared the sovereign power to reside in the assemblies of the people, 
which alone had the power of declaring war and making peace, of forming 
alliances, of electing generals and magistrates, and of controlling them in the 
execution of their respective duties. — The citizens were divided into four 
classes: the first comprehended those whose estates were of the yearly value 
of about ,£500 (pe7itakos iomedit/mi) ; the second were the knights who possessed 
a yearly revenue of £300; the zeugitce, who had a yoke of oxen, formed the 
third class; the fourth, and most numerous, comprised all of inferior property. 
The seventy-four cantons (demi) were still united into six tribes, and each tribe 
into three curice, to one of which every Athenian must belong. The popula- 
tion of Athens, though scarcely exceeding 60,000, contained nearly 10,000 
strangers, who, like the citizens, were called upon for military service, and 
paid an annual tribute. The slaves were better treated in Attica than in any 
other part of Greece, in consequence of which, although their number exceeded 
40,000, they never revolted, as in Sparta, to recover their liberty. The hatred 
which the lower classes of Greece and Rome bore to the rich, must, in a great 
measure, be attributed to the existence of slavery, which prevented these two 
extremes in the social scale from having common interests. The wealthy pos- 
sessor of slaves could dispense with the labour of the poor, who derived no 
advantage from the fortune of their fellow-citizen. Together with the aboli- 
tion of slavery, Christianity has extinguished the hatred between the different 
orders of society. 

Consult : Gillies's History of Greece ; — Travels of Anacharsis ; — Boeckh's 
Economy of Athens. 

Pisjstratus. — When Solon returned to Athens, after an absence of 
twenty years, he found it still agitated by its former dissensions, which 
did not cease until Pisistratus, a descendant of Codrus, fund himself 



68 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

able to seize upon the chief power, 560 b. c. He had previously dis- 
tinguished himself at the taking of Salamis ; and by his eloquence and 
affability he gained all hearts, in despite of the violent opposition of the 
lawgiver. He increased the body-guard which the confiding people had 
granted him, got possession of the citadel, and drove out his antagonists. 
After five or six years, this leader of the mountain-faction was expelled 
ny Lycurgus, the head of the wealthy nobles of the plains, in union 
with the exiled Alcmaeonidae. But he returned about 554 b. c, more 
powerful than before, having formed an alliance with Megacles, the 
chief of the moderate party on the coast. His second tyranny lasted 
scarcely a year, when he was again compelled to flee by the insulted 
family of his wife, 553 ; but making a second appearance about 54*2, he 
strengthened himself by alliances, money, and auxiliary troops. He 
was a good ruler, and Athens flourished under his government; hence 
Solon remarked of him, that he wa? the best of tyrants,* and without 
a vice, save ambition, He ended his days peaceably in the thirty-third 
year of his power, 5-27, after having patronised letters, founded a library 
for the use of the public, laid out tne gardens of the Lyceum, and pub- 
lished the scattered poems of Homer. Thespis first exhibited his rude 
tragedies in 535. 

Harmodius and Aristogiton -Pisistratus left three sons, Hippar- 
chus, Hippias, and Thessalus. The first was a virtuous ruler ; he pro- 
tected the arts, and entertained Anacreon and Simonides at his court. 
Private revenge stimulated the political feelings of Harmodius and 
Aristogiton ; and Hipparchus, who, as Plato said, recalled the days of 
Saturn, fell beneath their daggers at a public festival, 514. Hippias, 
the second brother, now reigned by terror; and the Athenians, applying 
to the Spartans for assistance, succeeded in restoring the exiled Alc- 
masonidae, 510. The tyrant was deposed, and fled to Persia, which 
event was the proximate cause of a war with that nation. 

Remarks. — The Athenians paid the greatest honours to the memory of 
Harmodius and Aristogiton ; they were revered as demigods ; and at all public 
festivals, songs were sung in their honour. But religion and morality unite in 
condemning the exaggerated eulogiums which have been passed on these two 
" victims of tyranny and martyrs of liberty," as they have been called, for 
neither of these honourable titles belongs to them. A personal insu't, an 
infamous jealousy, armed these two friends against Hipparchus; it was in the 
legitimate exercise of the right of self-defence that Harmodius was slain by the 
guards of the unfortunate Hipparchus ; and it was as an avenger of his mur 
dered brother, and a vindicator of the laws that Aristogiton was put to death. 
If we descend to the details of this transaction, we shall see the sword of the 
assassin perfidiously concealed with wreaths of myrtle, and Aristogiton denounc- 
ing innocent persons. These are acts which we must in justice denominate 
crimes, in spite of the eloquent commendations of so many ancient and modern 
authors. Thucydides forms almost the only exception to this inconsiderate 
enthusiasm. 

Athens was now threatened with a fresh servitude from the ambition 
of Clisthenes and Isagoras. The former having prevailed, 508, the 

* The name of tyrant was applied by the ancient Greeks to those kings who had 
usurped the throne or the supreme power, to the prejudice of the legitimate heir, or 
contrary to the will of the people. In modern ages it is appropriated to cruel and 
unjust monarchs, and is become a term of the greatest ignominy and detestation. 
Richard III. of England was a tyrant in both the ancient and modern signiticat ons 
of the word. 



SIXTH CENTURY B.C. 69 

state was laid at the mercy of an unprincipled populace, by dividing 
the original four tribes into ten, which were again subdivided into 100 
(or 170) demes. The number of the Senate was also increased to 500; 
many new citizens were made ; aliens were admitted ; and slaves were 
freed. By Clisthenes, the vote by ostracism was introduced. Isagoras 
appealed to Sparta, but without success, and the Assembly remained 
triumphant, — a democracy, not composed of sober, simple-minded hus- 
band men, as Solon contemplated, but of uninstructed and desperate 
masses of men, ready at the beck of every seditious demagogue to indulge 
in violence and tumult. 

In the space of a few years, Athens, freed from the yoke of its 
tyrants, humbled the pride of Thebes, punished the insolence of the 
Chalcidians, contended not ingloriously with the people of iEgina, and 
braved the jealousy of Lacedaemon, at the same time that, enriched by 
the spoils of its enemies, the city was embellished with new monu- 
ments, and preserved in the northern parts of Greece the influence which 
the Pisistratidae had begun to enjoy there by means of the establish- 
ments on the Hellespont. The family of Miltiades reigned at Cardia, 
in the Thracian Chersonese, and taught the barbarians to respect the 
name of his country. 

Lacedeemon during this period was far from acting so great a parj. 
The brave but unscrupulous Cleomenes, at the beginning of his reign, 
515, conquered the Argives in a bloody battle, and set on fire a sacred 
wood in which the fugitives had taken refuge. The capital of Argos 
was saved by the skilful defence of Telesilla, not less celebrated for 
her courage than for her poetical talents. The different campaigns 
which Cleomenes conducted in Attica, at one time as the ally, at 
another as the enemy of the Pisistratidae, are some years posterior to 
the disgraceful expedition against Argos. 

Seven Wise Men. — Solon, the legislator, was one of the famous wise men 
of Greece. The rest were Thales of Miletus, 586 ; Bias of Priene, 586 • 
Chilo of Lacedaemon, 586; Pittacus of Mitylene, 569 ; Cleobulus of Rhodes. 
586 ; Periander of Corinth, 585. The last of these had no claim to th.it 
honourable title, except the merit of having patronised men of genius and 
virtue. The number is sometimes increased by the addition of the Scythian 
Anacharsis, and the Cretan Epimenides. 

Read: Bulwer's Athens, book I. ch. viii. 

ROME. 

Servius Tullius (578 b. c), an Etrurian captain of mercenaries, was 
successful in several battles against his native country. He was in 
many respects the most deserving of the kings, and placed Rome at the 
head of the Latin confederacy, confirming her position by common 
religious ceremonies. He extended and completed the stone walls of 
the city, divided the territory into districts, each with its proper magis- 
trate, instituted the census, and arranged the people into five great classes, 
according to their wealth, which were again subdivided into centuries. 
The necessity of this measure demonstrates the increasing power of the 
citizens, and by it the frame-work of the republic was completed. He 
fell a victim to the ambition of his daughter, Tullia, and her husband. 

Tarquin the Proud seized upon the kingdom without waiting for 
the approbation of the senate, 534 b. c. He enacted many oppressive 



70 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

laws against the plebeians, and, protected by a strong body-guard, 
tyrannized also over the patricians ; he nevertheless upheld the dignity 
of the Roman state, and all Latium acknowledged its supremacy. He 
built a temple to Jupiter, Juno, and .Minerva, on the summit of the 
Capitoline hill, in which were deposited the sacred treasures with the 
mysterious books of the Sibyl. The unbridled passions of his son 
Sext'is caused the expulsion of the dynasty and the abolition of the 
kingly power, at about the same period in which the Pisistratidae were 
driven from Athens, 509 b. c. 

Note.— The history of the last Tarquin is by no means free from difficulty. 
The story of Lucretia's misfortune, and the consequent expulsion of the royal 
family, is not confirmed by other facts in history, and is in direct opposition to 
the account of the Treaty of the first Consuls with Carthage. The circum- 
stances attending the change of government at Athens, on the death of Codrus, 
may throw some light on the present events. The list of Roman kings is 
evidently imperfect. It is not likely that seven kings, four of whom met with 
a violent death, should reign on an average more than thirty-four years. Ro- 
mulus and Numa are probably mythical ; the five others, the remnants of a 
longer list, presenting the most remarkable names. The stupendous sewers 
still existing in their pristine strength, " and the building of the Capitol, attest 
with unquestionable evidence, that the Rome of the later kings was the chief 
of a great state." 

Consult : Niebuhr's Roman History, vol. i. 

CONSTITUTION OF ROME. 

The municipal constitution of Rome was doubtless copied from the mother 
city. The senate was a deliberative body of 300, the heads of the ten gentes 
(houses) into which each of the thirty curia was divided. The patricians were 
a hereditary nobility, who alone had the privilege of administering the sacred 
affairs, and who formed a strong political party in opposition to the plebeians, 
not unlike the state of freemen and ordinary residents in a close city. Besides 
the original division into tribes and curies, another, according to property, was 
subsequently introduced, the classes and centuries, out of which arose the two 
assemblies {comitia) called acuriata and centuriata. The religious institutions 
were closely connected with the state, and few important undertakings were 
ever begun without first having the sanction of the gods. The discipline and 
subordination so remarkable in the Roman people, partly originated in the 
mutual relations of patron and client, a mitigated form of feudalism ; in the 
regulations about marriage ; and in the unlimited authority of the parent. To 
these things, and to the spirit which they generated, they were indebted for all 
the glories which they subsequently obtained. 

Consult: Heeren's Manual of Ancient History. 

CHINA. 

Confucius ot Con-fu-tsee was born about 550 b. c. ; and from this 
celebrated man was descended the only hereditary Chinese nobility. 
He successively passed through all the ranks and honours of the state, 
and was not less celebrated as a reformer than as a philosopher. He 
supposed that men were naturally good and possessed of celestial rea- 
son, but that its place, when lost, was supplied by a worldly substitute. 
Pythagoras, Zoroaster, and Confucius, flourished at nearly the same 
period. 



FIFTH CENTURY B. C 71 



FIFTH CENTURY. 

Judjea. — 457, Ezra. — 415, Nehemiah. — 420, Malachi, d. 
Persia. — 499, Sardis burnt. — 401, Retreat of the Ten Thousand. 
Greece.— 490, Marathon.— 480, Salamis.— 471, Themistocles exiled.— 466 

Victory at the Eurymedon. — 449, Pericles. — 440, Samian War ; 431, Pelo- 

ponnesian War. — 429, The Plague; Death of Pericles. — 415, Sicilian 

Expedition.— 405, Victory at 7Egos,-Potamos.— 404, Death of Alcibiades.— 

403, Thrasybulus. 
Rome.— 509, Consuls.— 498, Dictator, Titus Lartius. —493, Tribunes of the 

People. — 486, Agrarian Law. — 452, Decemvirs — Laws of the Twelve Tables 
— Volscian and Veintine Wars. 
Carthage. — 509, Treaty with Rome.— 480, Defeat at Himera. — 410, Sicilian 

Wars. 
Literature. — 490, Pindar ; 480, iEschylus and Sophocles ; 444, Euripides, 

Herodotus ; 429, Hippocrates, Lysias, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Socrates. 
Discoveries. — 479, Mnemonics by Simonides ; 441, Catapult, &c. ; 437, 

Anatomy and Medicine by Hippocrates. 

JUD^A. 

Ezra. — The affairs of the Jews were still in a perplexed state. The 
rebuilding 1 of the temple was completed under Darius Hystaspes, but 
the Samaritans and others persevered in their opposition to the restora- 
tion of the city walls, during the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes. In 
the seventh year of the reign of the latter prince, 457, Ezra was sent to 
Jerusalem, with full civil and ecclesiastical powers, and in 445 Nehe- 
miah w T as appointed governor. During his twelve years' administra- 
tion, the walls were completed, and the feast of Tabernacles again 
celebrated. With Malachi, who died 420 b. c, closes the prophetic 
roll of the Old Testament, the canon of the history terminating with the 
death of Nehemiah. Bossuet says, that " God owed it to the majesty 
of his Son to silence the voices of the prophets during- the next 400 
years, that the nations might hold themselves in expectation of him who 
was to be the fullfilment of all oracles. 

Judsea was governed by a Persian satrap, but by slow degrees the 
high priests became the virtual rulers of the nation. 

GREECE. 

Persian Invasion. — The revolt of the Ionian colonies under Histiaeus 
was supported by the Athenians, and the flames of Sardis (499) gave 
rise to the great war. Having subdued the rebellious colonists, Darius, 
at the instigation of the fugitive Hippias, sent into Greece a powerful 
army of 120,000 men. The invaders were met at Marathon, a small 
town of Attica, immortalized by a battle in which the Athenians, almost 
unassisted, routed the Persian host, 29th September, 490 b. c. A long 
high barrow covers the remains of those who fell, and the peasant still 
fancies he hears their spectral cavalry sweeping by night across the 
plain. Miltiades, on whom his fellow- generals had conferred the 



72 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

supreme command, was wounded, and Hippias is by some reported to 
have perished. 

By this victory the power of Miltiades was raised to its height. He 
directed the Athenian arms against Paros, having formed the design of 
rendering his country the mistress of the sea ; and on the failure of his 
expedition, he was capitally impeached by Xantippus, the chief of the 
Alcmaeonid faction. His principal defence and answer were the names 
of Marathon and Lemnos ; but he was found guilty, and being unable 
to pay the fine of fifty talents, was thrown into prison, where he died. 

ThermopyLjE and Salamis. — The history of Athens now becomes, 
in some measure, that of individuals. Themistocles and Aristides took 
the reins of government, and were the real authors of the power and 
glory of the Athenian republic. The former, connected with noble 
families, united in a remarkable degree all the most brilliant qualities 
of a statesman ; the latter, of distinguished birth, was proverbial for 
integrity. During the administration of these two great men, a more 
formidable invasion was headed by Xerxes, the successor of Darius, in 
person. This monarch, with his numerous host, which had gradually 
swelled to two millions and a half of warriors, met with no check until 
he reached the celebrated pass of Thermopylae, where, about 12,000 
men were collected under the Spartan king, Leonidas. After two days' 
successful fighting, patriotism was overcome by treason. A Greek 
named Ephialtes led the Persians across a mountain-path, by which 
they got to the rear of the opposing army. Dismissing the greater part 
of his troops, that they might not uselessly perish, he retained only 300 
Spartans, 400 volunteer Thespians, 100 Thebans, and 80 warriors from 
Mycenae. These with the Helots, as at Plataea, raised the number to 
about 2000. All this determined band, save the Thebans, were cut to 
pieces — non victi sed vincendo fatigati — and the victor marched to Athens, 
which he plundered and burnt (b. c. 480), the inhabitants, by advice 
of Themistocles, having taken refuge in the adjoining islands. From 
the top of a lofty cliff, the Persian ruler had the mortification of behold- 
ing his numerous fleet of 1000 galleys, each carrying 230 men, defeated 
by the Greeks with only 380 sail, between the mainland and Salamis. 
Xerxes fled hastily, leaving Mardonius behind with an army of 300,000 
men, which was routed the next year at Plataea, by the allied Greeks 
under Pausanias and Aristides. On the same day (20th October), the 
remnant of the Persian fleet was utterly destroyed off Mycale, in Asia 
Minor. The day of Thermopylae (4th August) had also been rendered 
doubly illustrious by a seafight with the same enemy, near Artemisium, 
a promontory of Eubcea. It is a pithy remark made by the historian 
Justin, that the troops of the eastern king wanted nothing but a leader. 

The victory of Salamis operated an entire change in the position of the 
Greeks, both abroad and at home. From being attacked, they became the 
assailants, and the liberation of their Asiatic compatriots was the motive or the 
pretext by which they justified the continuance of an advantageous war, in 
which Sparta preserved the administration. But the treason and fall of Pausa- 
nias, vvho died of famine in the temple to which he had tied for refuge, changed 
the situation of affairs. The supreme influence passed from the Spartans to 
the Athenians, who profited by it to form a kind of military confederation of 
the interior states. From this epoch dates the jealousy of the two republics, 
previous to which the numerous petty governments were incessantly armed 
against each other. Separated thus by mistaken interests, they could perform 



FIFTH CENTURY B.C. 73 

nothing great, and external pressure was necessary to develop their forces in 
behalf ot the common safety of Greece. The Persian wars laid the foundation 
of Grecian, and particularly of Athenian grandeur. While Athens was rising 
to an ascendancy over her neighbours, she was extending a silent but more 
certain and beneficial influence by her literary men. ^schylus fought at 
Salamis ; Euripides was born on the very day of the battle, and Sophocles was 
seventeen years old. 

Exile of Themistocles. — Themistocles, vanquisher of the Persians 
at Salamis, used his influence to persuade the Athenians of the necessity 
of maintaining- their superiority by means of a powerful navy. In spite 
of the jealous opposition of the Spartans, the walls of Athens were 
raised, the Piraeus was built, and funds were voted for the yearly con- 
struction of new vessels. These services of the patriotic leader were 
badly requited. He was accused of participating in the conspiracy of 
Pausanias ; and although nothing was proved against him, he was, by 
the popular ballot, condemned to exile, in 471. He took refuge at the 
court of Artaxerxes Longimanus, where he died, whether by poison or 
disease is uncertain. 

Cimon, the son of Miltiades, now became the prominent actor in the 
affairs of Greece. This great man was said to unite the courage of his 
father with the prudence of Themistocles and the integrity of Aristides. 
He had already acquired renown by his conquests in Thrace, and his 
successes over the Persians in Asia Minor. At the battles of the Eury- 
inedon, in 466, he utterly defeated the troops of Artaxerxes, both by 
land and sea ; whereby he struck such a blow at the power of that 
sovereign, that a treaty was concluded, by which the freedom of the 
-Ionian cities was guarantied, and no Persian horseman allowed to approach 
within a day's journey of the sea. In a subsequent expedition, Cimon 
recovered the Thracian Chersonese; and by the surrender of Thasos in 
463, the Athenians obtained the gold-mines on the opposite coasts ot 
Thrace. 

Pericles, son of Xantippus, the conqueror at Mycale, now appeared 
on the stage of Athenian politics. He joined the popular faction in 
order to oppose Cimon, who was at the head of the aristocracy ; and 
the third Messenian war, which led to the exile of that chief, left him 
without a rival, 461. Thebes and Argos, which, during the struggle 
with Persia, had deserted and betrayed the Gr,eek party, became the 
cause of a severe contest between Athens and Sparta ; the latter declar- 
ing for the Thebans, the former for the Argives. On the field of 
Tanagra, in Bceotia, victory favoured the Spartans (457), but the suc- 
cesses of Myronides shortly after turned the scale. Nearly all the states 
of Bceotia were revolutionized, and garrisons of friends everywhere 
established. Faction was not, however, quieted, and to preserve the 
state from ruin, Pericles himself solicited the recall of the banished 
Cimon, 456. By his intercession, the two republics were united in a 
common expedition against Persia, during which this pacificator died, 
though not until he had seen the conclusion of the war, 449 b. c. 

Revolt of the Helots — Third Messenian War. — While Athens 
was steadily pursuing her career of aggrandizement, Sparta was almost 
entirely destroyed by an earthquake, unequalled in horrors, except by 
that of Lisbon in 1755 a. d. The earth opened into immense chasms, 
the tops of mountains were cleft, and enormous fragments rolled down 
7 



74 



am ir.vr iiisroitv. 



into the plains, destroying every thing in their course. In the oity, five 

hon iet only were lefl itariding, and 20,000 of its inhabitants perished in 

the ruins, Hi i it. c The rlelots, taking advantage of this awful 

rophe, i" '■ in rebellion) hoping to emancipate themselves and 

• their wrongt. The prudence of kino Archidamus saved Lace* 

deem »n ; the I [elote were gradually dispei led, and at Last blockaded in 

[thome, the capital of Mes ene, which they had fortifiedi Prom 'his 

circumstance the insurrection is known by the name of the third Mes- 

ii Him wan At the outbreak of the, revolt, the assi itance of Athens 

licited, and granted at the suggestion of Cimon, for which aot be 

was afterwards bamshed< 

Ammim i i: LT10B OF PjERIOLBSi — After the death of <'inion, Pericles 

became the leading man at Athens. I { < > 1 « 1 and artful, eloquent and 

rich, he managed the fickle populace al his will, and principally hy 

flattering them that each individual knew something of the affairs of the 

Abroad he was everywhere triumphant, particularly in the 

Samian war, -1 10 ; and Athens became the Queen of llir Km. During 

forty years he governed with kingly power, and his reign was one of 
the most brilliant epochs in the history of civilisation. 'The arts and 
sciences, with commerce, made rapid advances; schools of philosophers 
and orators were formed; and to express one's thoughts with elegance 
ami perspicuity became an enviable distinction, it is to the patronage 
of Pericles that Vthens owes the glory of being the country of literature 
and the arts. Mow greal the contrast offered by Lacedasmon, where 

gTO miss of manners and severe laws prevented ail moral development | 

./// Sparta, it was said, men /.urn to die for their country f at Jtthentf to 
live for it. War became inevitable between the rival states. 

PSLOPONNESIAM \V.\k. — The assistance furnished hy the Athenians to 
the ( JorcyreanS, who were at war with ( 'orinth the mother eil\ , was the 
pretext Of a war Which lasted twenty-seven years. The real cause was 
the mutual dislike of the Athenian del -racy and the Spartan aristo- 
cracy. Fortune alternately favoured each party ; Athens, the mistress 

of lie mi, was supported hy tributary confederates, whom fear attached 
to her, while Sparta, as a land-power, and seconded hy the greater part 
Of Greece, seemed tO represent the cause of liherly. Thus the whole 

nation was divided into two parties — the Lacedemonian and Athenian^ 

or the Doric and Ionian. 



I »n the Athenian side were — 
IhIch — The a rchipelsgo (excepi There, 

Sainos, and MedOS) 

i Ihioa 
( loreyrs 

I .csbos 

' lephallenia 
Zacynthus, with 
Vfessenis 

('ana 
Thrace, &Q, 



I )n the side of Sparta were 

imbrecia 

\ nactorium 

Bceotia 'except Plates) 

Leuca 

Megan 

Peloponne 

Phocia 

ilv, in part. 



The greal events of this war are: — The dtvaetation ofMtiea; (he battle 
of Jir^inus.r ; the tlrfrnrc of l'lttinvt; tin: Sicilian expedition ; tht battle of 
Jx!go$'Potanioi ; the tiege <""/ taking of Athene* 



FIFTH CENTURY B. C 75 

The remarkable persons are : — 

I ' , . , ,. „,, C Pericles, Alcibiades, Oleon, Nicias, Conon, 

On the side <> Jlihem< T ,Lu«- 

J (_ Ijarnachus. 

., .. ., . .. . r Callicratidas, Brasidas, Gylippus, Lysander, 

On the side of Sparta^ Mi|1(|; , ms . 

Consequence. — The defeat of the Athenians, and the supremacy of 
Laced sem on. 

Plaque of Athens. — During the two first years of the contest, 
victory seemed to incline to the side of Sparta. Attica, a prey to the 
horrors of war, was devastated still more by the scourge of pestilence, 
Which carried off many of the principal men. Pericles, who was con- 
sidered the author of their evils, was deposed and fined ; but he was 
soon besought by the common voice to resume the cares of government, 
lie (lid riot long enjoy his triumph ; he caught the dreadful infection, of 
which he died, lamented alike by friends and enemies, 429. 
Read: Account of the Plague of Athens, in Anacharsis. 

Sicilian Expedition. — Cleon, a currier, succeeded the great Pericles, 
and an umegulated democracy was preparing the most lamentable con- 
sequences. Sparta, in her young and valorous general l.rasidas, 
threatened a dangerous rivalry to Athens; but be perished too early, 
before Amphipolis, a victim to his own courage, 422. A short time 
previous to this event, Laced »m on had been the theatre of a terrible 
domestic tragedy. Under the pretence of enrolling the Helots among 
the troops destined for the Thraeian expedition, 2000 of the flower of 
the slave population were selected, and while enjoying the festival of 
their newly gained liberty, with the garlands of freedom still encircling 
their heads, in the emphatic and significant language of the historian, 
they disappeared. 

A truce of fifty years was now concluded by the management of 
Nicias, but as it displeased all the allies, it could not last. Almost 
within a year the war was revived by the ambition of Alcibiades. This 
young man united the advantages of extreme beauty, wealth, and noble 
birth, with the most eminent talents. He was the pupil of Socrates, 
and the ward of Pericles, whom be endeavoured to imitate, but without 
his maturity of judgment. Embracing the popular side, by his well- 
timed flattery and florid descriptions, he persuaded his countrymen to 
undertake the fatal expedition to Sicily. Grecian colonies had long 
been settled in that island ; the principal town, Syracuse, was built by 
Corinthians in the eighth century. The Carthaginians had endeavoured 
to obtain its mastery, but they wen; utterly defeated at Panormus on the 
day of the battle of Thermopylae. The oppressions exercised by Syra- 
cuse over the weaker towns compelled them to look abroad for aid ; 
Egesta applied to Athens for help, which was readily granted, in despite 
of the warning voice of Nicias. 

A fleet was equipped, and intrusted to the command, of Alcibiades, 
with Lamachus and Nicias for his associates, 415 B.C. But scarcely 
had the armament sailed, when he was accused of sacrilege; and fearing 
to obey the orders of recall, be tied to Sparta, where be became the 
enemy of his country. During this time, the fleet and army of the Athe- 
nians were destroyed after the fatal siege of Syracuse, by the counsels 
and the aid furnished by (Jylippus, 413 b. 0. 



76 ANCIENT HISTORY- 

This rash expedition was a blow to the power of Athens, from which 
it never recovered. Alcibiades was forthwith recalled, and the period 
of his second government was the most brilliant of the whole war 
(411-107). The repeated victories of his countrymen over the Spar- 
tans, commanded by Mindarus (who in his distrust of Tissaphernes, 
had formed an alliance with Pharnabazus, satrap of Northern Asia 
Minor), obliged the Lacedaemonians themselves to sue for a peace, 
which the haughty Athenians unhappily refused. Another great navai 
victory was gained at Arginusae, between Mitylene and Asia, in which 
Callicratidas, the admiral, was killed, 406. For not picking up the 
dead bodies in the stormy weather after the battle, six of the com- 
manders were unjustly put to death, Socrates alone venturing to raise 
an opposing voice. 

Victory of Lysander. — In the following year, Lysander detached 
Ephesus from the Athenian party, and made an alliance with Cyrus the 
younger, governor of Western Asia. Being reinforced by this prince, 
in 405, he destroyed the enemy's fleet at iEgos-Potamos, in theThracian 
Chersonese, and killed 3000 men, Conon alone, with eight vessels and 
the sacred ship Paralus, escaping the general havoc. The fate of Athens 
was now sealed. Lysander proceeded with his victorious squadron to 
the Piraeus, when the city, closely pressed by land and sea, was com- 
pelled to surrender, 404. Peace was granted on the following hard con- 
ditions : — that the fortifications should be demolished ; that all the men- 
of-war, save twelve, should be given up ; that the tributary cities should 
be emancipated ; that the exiles should be recalled ; and that no war 
should be carried on except under the orders of the Lacedaemonians. 
Athens, to complete its misfortunes, beheld its government violently 
changed. The democracy was destroyed, and all authority placed in 
the hands of thirty archons, known as the Thirty Tyrants. Thus 
ended the Peloponnesian war. 

"The victory of y£gos-Potamos," says Muller, "destroyed only the 
dominion, not the greatness of Athens; an enlightened nation, which does not 
forget itself, secures a dignity which is independent of the vicissitudes of 
events." The consequences of the Peloponnesian war were more injurious to 
the morals than to the policy of the Greeks. A factious spirit usurped the 
name of patriotism, and each nation saw a rival or an enemy in the other. 
Athens lost her preponderance, and was replaced by Sparta; but the bond of 
unity was broken, and the despotism of the Thirty Tyrants was more burden- 
some to the tributary slates than that of independent Athens. It was easy to 
foresee that Greece would fall a prey to the first foreign power that ventured 
to attack it. 

It is some feeble consolation, that during this dark and stormy period, Athens 
was laying the foundation of an empire which Sparta could not destroy, and 
which the lapse of years has rendered more powerful. Literature and the fine 
arts attained their highest eminence. JEschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and 
Aristophanes, still delight and form our taste. The ruins of the Parthenon are 
yet an object of veneration, and from the mutilated sculptures of Phidias the 
best modern artists have drawn their inspiration. 

After the battle of iEgos-Potamos, Lysander placed a Lacedaemonian 
governor, with ten archons, in all the cities of Caria, Ionia, the Hellespont, and 
Thrace. He returned in triumph to Sparta with immense riches, the fruits of 
his conquests. His ambition was not satisfied with his success ; he endeavour- 
ed to seize upon the crown, but on finding himself deserted by his partisans, he 
was compelled to abandon his pretensions. 

Thrasybulus. — This illustrious Athenian, in company with othei 



FIFTH CEMIRY B.C. 77 

exiles, had taken refuge at Thebes from the cruelty of the Thirty 
Tyrants. Putting himself at the head of 500 soldiers, raised at the 
expense of the orator Lysias, he succeeded in taking the Piraeus, and in 
defeating the Thirty, who had hastened thither with their troops, 403. 
Thus by the wisdom and moderation of a single man, Athens recovered 
liberty and peace, while the ancient form of government was renewed, 
in defiance of all the exertions of Lacedaemon. The despots had been 
replaced by a council of Ten members, not less absolute than their pre- 
decessors. By this body the aid of Lysander and his mercenary army 
was invoked, but the victory remained with king Pausanias, who had 
come to the support of Thrasybulus and his adherents. On the deposi- 
tion of the Ten, the democratic government was restored, and a general 
amnesty proclaimed. Forms may be easily re-established, but the 
departed spirit of a nation can never be recalled. 

Death of Alcibiades. — Alcibiades, accused by Thrasybulus of hav- 
ing ruined the Athenian commonwealth, was a second time deprived of 
the chief command. He at first retired to his Thracian estates, but was 
compelled to leave them to avoid the machinations of his enemies, and 
to seek an asylum in Bithynia. The people, in their distress, again 
turned their thoughts towards him, and agitated his recall ; but the 
Thirty Tyrants counselled Lysander to demand him alive or dead, from 
the satrap, who was base enough to comply with their wishes; and he 
accordingly perished beneath the weapons of the barbarians, at the age 
of forty, 404 b. c. 

Read : Life of Alcibiades, in Anacharsis. 

Ostracism. — In this extraordinary proceeding, each citizen wrote upon a 
shell or piece of broken ware, the name of the person he desired to banish. 
Whenever the number amounted to 6000, they were sorted, the man was 
exiled for ten years whose name was found on the majority, although no crime 
might have been alleged, and no defence was allowed. A similar custom 
existed at Argos, and also in Sicily, under the name of Petalism. Athens 
spared neither the lives nor fortunes of her heroes. Miltiades, the conqueror 
at Marathon, died in prison ; Aristides the Just, and the benevolent Cimon, 
who fought at Eurymedon, were banished Paches, the conqueror of Mitylene, 
committed suicide to avoid the results of an unjust accusation. Themistocles 
saved his life by fleeing to Persia ; Herodotus the historian found an asylum in 
Southern Italy ; Thucydides fled from the jealousy of the demagogue Cleon; 
the amiable Xenophon was driven into exile ; Socrates was poisoned ; Timo- 
theus the son of Conon, who had rebuilt the walls of Athens, died of extreme 
want ; Iphicrates and Chabrias withdrew to avoid a similar fate ; Phocion was 
condemned to die at the advanced age of eighty-four ; Demetrius of Phalerae 
sought refuge in Egypt ; and even in more recent days, the father of the his 
torian Chalcondylas, met with no return for his services but ingratitude. 

N. B. Let the student give the particulars from Plutarch's Lives, Lempriere's 
Dictionary, or any other authentic source. 

PERSIA. 

Xerxes I., 485. — The last days of Darius were embittered by dis- 
putes between his sons about the succession ; until at length Xerxes, 
born to him by his second wife, Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, was 
declared heir. He marched against the Egyptian rebels, and placed the 
subject country under the severe treatment of his brother, the Satrap 
Achajmenes. He is the Ahasuerus — a title, not a proper name — who 
7* 



78 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

confirmed the Jews in all the privileges granted by his father, and forced 
the Samaritans to contribute to the building- of the temple. His cruel- 
ties and dissolute life were terminated by assassination; his murderers 
gave out that he fell by the hands of his son Darius, 465, who shortly 
afterwards perished in a similar manner. The results of the invasion 
of Greece have been mentioned in another place. 

Artaxerxes I, Longimanus, on his accession, 465, found the pro- 
vinces in rebellion. His brother Hystaspes, in Bactria, was subdued 
after two battles; and Egypt, whose submission was neither certain 
nor durable, was recovered, though not without difficulty, in 455. The 
Greeks, meanwhile, retaliated upon Persia the evils inflicted by Mar- 
donius. The kindred cities of Ionia were re-established, and Cimon, 
having in one day destroyed both ships and army at the Eurymedon, 
466, compelled the great king to accede to an inglorious peace. No 
Persian governor was to reside within three days' journey of the Medi- 
terranean, and none of his war-vessels were to sail between Palestine 
and the Chersonese. 

Retreat of the Tex Thousand, 401. — Rapid and violent revolutions, 
with rebellions in the provinces, particularly in Egypt, 414, under Darius 
II. Nothus, led to the reign of Artaxerxes II. Mnemon, 405. He had 
scarcely ascended the throne when he was compelled to defend it against 
his brother Cyrus the younger, governor of Asia Minor, who claimed 
the throne from being the first bom after his father's accession. His 
army of 100,000 barbarians under Ariseus was reinforced by 13,000 
Grecian volunteers, commanded hy Clearchus. The hostile armies met 
at Cunaxa, about twenty leagues from Babylon, where Cyrus, engaging 
in battle with his brother, who had 120,000 men under his command, 
lost his life, 401. The Greeks maintained the reputation of their coun- 
try not only in this fight, but in that memorable retreat, in which, at 
the end of fifteen months, after having overcome every obstacle of nature, 
and triumphed over all the attacks of the nations on their route, they 
again beheld their native shores. The Anabasis of Xenophon, their 
general, has immortalized this unexampled march. 

Sketch a Map of the March to Cunaxa and of the Retreat. 
Read : Retreat of the Ten Thousand, in Rollin or in Anachar. ; ; . 

ROME. 

The Consuls. — On the abolition of royalty, the power of the kings 
was transferred to two consuls, annually elected, of whom Brutus and 
Collatinus were the first, 509. A conspiracy was formed to restore the 
exiled sovereign, and among its members were two sons of Brutus ; but 
the plot being discovered, the criminals were apprehended. The father 
himself presided on the trial, and condemned his children to the scourge 
and the axe. Such heartlessness and cruelty, not required by any state 
of society, is too frequently held out as an example worthy of imitation. 
Ambition and stoical pride could alone have excited a parent to pursue 
a line of conduct which would now meet with universal execration. 
Tarquin's only remaining resource was arms; and, assisted by the 
Etruscan Porsenna, he overran the country, defeated the Romans, com- 
pelled them to surrender a third part of their territory, and to give bos- 



FIFTH CENTURY B. C. 79 

tages from their noblest families. The deposed dynasty was not, how- 
ever, restored, and the king, after many adventures, and having outlived 
all his children, died at Cumae, b. c. 494. The most important monu- 
ment of the authenticity of early Roman history is the first commercial 
treaty with Carthage, 509, in which Rome, although a free state, does 
not appear as the head of Latium. 

The first consuls were of the family of Tarquin, the name and not the power 
of the supreme ruler being changed. They were first called praetors, the name 
of consul being given after the decemvirate. 

Dictator. — Scarcely had Rome been freed from the regal yoke, when 
the people began to suffer from patrician tyranny. The equitable con- 
stitution of Servius being laid aside, the office of dictator was created, 
498, and Lartius was the first who filled this office. The law of appectt 
established by Valerius Poplicola was by this means evaded, and 
unlimited authority was exercised over the commonalty. The oppres- 
sion of the nobles was principally manifested in withdrawing the elec- 
tion of the consuls from the centuries, and by reducing their unfortunate 
debtors to the rank of slaves (next). An accident drove the commons 
(plebs) into sedition ; the legions deserted their generals and retired to 
the Sacred Mount, while the plebeians occupied the Aventine and 
Esquiline Hills. After long resistance, the Valerian laws were restored, 
and all debtors set at liberty. The fable of Menenius Agrippa (the belly 
and the members) refers to this period, 493 b. c. 

Tribunes. — The sole purpose of these officers (who owe their creation 
to the preceding disturbances) was to uphold the Valerian laws and 
check the consular power. At first they were a plebeian, afterwards a 
national magistracy, and their number was increased from two to ten. 
CoRiOLANUs,whohad distinguished himselfagainstthe Volsci, obstinately 
resisted the right they claimed of summoning patricians before the tribu- 
nal of the commons. Being driven into exile (475), he headed a band 
of Romans in a like situation with himself, and nearly endangered the 
existence of his native city. The tears of a mother availed more than 
the entreaties of the Senate. He concluded a glorious peace, and when 
he died, at an advanced age, among the Volscians, the Roman matrons 
mourned him during a whole year, and he was justly honoured as an 
upright patriot. — In acknowledgment of the service rendered by Veturia, 
a temple was erected at Rome to Female Fortune. 

Agrarian Laws. — These famous laws concerned the public lands 
alone, setting no limit to the landed property of any class or individual. 
When a hostile territory was subdued, one-third was appropriated for 
the benefit of the people generally ; and the quantity to be held by each 
man was limited, the commons having generally five acres, subject to 
all assessments. The patricians managed to hold much larger portions, 
and as these lands were the only pay of the legionary soldiers, the con- 
querors w r ere not (infrequently compelled to give up their booty to the 
public treasury. The dispute, in which the commonalty finally prevailed, 
was, whether they should have an equitable share, or the aristocracy 
possess the whole. Spurius Cassias, one of the wisest of Roman states- 
men, in his third consulate proposed an Agrarian law, by which he 
hoped to attach the plebeians firmly to the state; but means were taken 
to evade the execution of this statute, and he himself suffered death as a 



80 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

traitor, 484. The call for these laws, however, did not cease : the 
people refused to serve in the legions, and when drawn up in battle, 
allowed themselves to be defeated without a blow. At last, to settle the 
differences, ten men (decem-viri) were appointed to draw up a code, 
which should unite the commons and the patricians, by placing them on 
an equal footing : a supreme magistracy was also to be instituted in 
place of the consulate. The first decemvirs were worthy men, but their 
successors abandoned themselves to cruelty, avarice, and licentiousness ; 
hence the support shown to them by the patriciate excited the indigna- 
tion of the people. Among their victims was Sicinius Dentatus, whom 
Niebuhr styles the Roman Roland. The brutal outrage of Appius 
against Virginia caused the abolition of the decemvirate, and the restora- 
tion of the tribunes, b. c. 449.* Amid various disputes, and the alterna- 
tion of tribunitial and consular power, the rights of the people were 
advancing ; and freedom was secured by reviving old or framing new- 
laws. The prohibition of intermarriages between the patricians and 
plebeians raised an insurmountable barrier between the two classes ; 
but this regulation was repealed in 445. The struggle for the admission 
of the commons to the consulate continued eighty years. The jealousy 
of the privileged orders was provoked by the generosity of Spurius 
Maelius, who expended a large fortune in supporting the people during 
a period of famine. To avert the supposed danger, the well-known 
Cincinnati^ was a second time chosen dictator; and in full assembly of 
the people, the benefactor of his miserable fellow-citizens was bar- 
barously murdered (440 b. c), a victim to a cruel and ruthless 
faction.f 

Rome, as the head of the Latin confederation, was engaged in con- 
tinual wars with those states that felt or imagined themselves to be 
oppressed by her rule. Though insignificant feuds in themselves, they 
were the means by which Rome became a conquering nation, and which 
laid the foundation of the senatorial power. Among the most important 
was the last war against Veii, 404-395. 

Volscian and Veientine Wars. — The iEquian war is included by 
Gellius in his list of memorable epochs. The iEquian and Volscian 
armies were composed of picked men, bound by awful oaths to fight till 
death. On the 18th June, they were attacked by the dictator Tubertus, 
and defeated after a bloody conflict. The Veientines, an Etrurian 
people, long maintained a powerful opposition against the Romans, and 
nearly took their city. But fortune changed ; Veii was in its turn 
blockaded, and taken by Camillus, 396 b. c, after a protracted siege, 
though the manner of its capture is apocryphal. This w r ar w r as signalized 
by the devotion of the Fabian family, who raised an intrenched camp 
on the Cremera, as the Spartans did at Deceleia, whence they ravaged the 
Veientine territory. They all, but one man, perished by stratagem, 
within sight of a Roman force. These wars first introduced the system 
of winter campaigns, and of paying the soldiers, thus gradually forming 
a standing army. 

* Appius and M. Claudius found imitators in the Duke of Fronsac and others of the 
same cast, in the reign of Louis XV. 
A Niebuhr, vol. ii. 



FIFTH CENTURY B. C. 81 

On the laws of the Twelve Tables. 

The Grecian origin of these laws has been unreasonably questioned ; and 
although it is not probable that the haughty patriciate of Rome would con- 
descend to copy the Athenian democracy, still the pre-eminence of Athens 
under Pericles, might have justified an examination into her codes. The casual 
resemblances to be found in the legislative enactments of Solon and the Decem- 
virs may also be discovered in. the first efforts of all people in the infancy of 
their civilisation. The Twelve Tables inculcated the soundest principles of 
government and morals ; they were learnt by schoolboys, and were the 
favourite meditation of their fathers. They were soon overloaded by a multi- 
tude of new statutes, when Augustus conferred the legislative authority on the 
senate. The edicts of the Praetors furnished the salutary means of perpetually 
harmonizing the several codes with the spirit of the times. The Praetors were 
the true organs of the public mind ; their regulations were framed according to 
the opinions of the great lawyers of the day. Laws were rarely enacted con- 
trary to the provisions of the Twelve Tables, which, by certain fictions, existing 
alike in all nations, were brought into accordance with the necessities of the 
age. These variable edicts at length comprehended the whole of the Roman 
legislation, and became the basis of the jurisprudence contained in the digest 
of Justinian. 

CARTHAGE. 

The progress of this nation was slow, but at the close of the fifth 
century it was the first power in Africa, and possessed many extensive 
foreign settlements. The principal islands in the Mediterranean, and it 
is supposed the Canaries and Madeira, were occupied by her adventur- 
ous citizens. Mago, with his two sons and six grandsons, had the glory 
of extending the territory, and establishing the dominion of Carthage in 
Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa, 550-480. About the same period this 
republic became connected with the Persian monarchy, — had met and 
fought the Phocean navy, — extended its colonies along the shores of the 
Atlantic, 539, — and concluded its first treaty with Rome, 509. The 
great object of its policy was now the possession of the fertile island of 
Sicily,; but the alliance with Xerxes in his attack upon Greece led to 
the dreadful rout and disgraceful peace of Himera, 480. This great 
battle was fought on the same day as that of Salamis, and one of the 
conditions of the treaty which followed it is highly honourable to the 
victor Gelo: he insisted on the cessation of human sacrifices ?d the 
shrines of the Punic divinities. For seventy years Carthage dreaded 
the arms of Greece, and her name is scarcely met with in history ; but 
the accession of Dionysius I. renewed the war, 406 b. c, each party at 
the conclusion retaining its conquests. The second commercial treaty 
with Rome was formed about this period. The contest with Sicily 
continued until the breaking out of the Punic wars, which were the 
necessary consequence of the aggrandizing ambition of two powerful 
nations. Rome was the aggressor; yet her own safety was scarcely 
compatible with the dominion of her rivals in Sicily. 
Read: Heeren's African Nations. 



82 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

FOURTH CENTURY. 

Greece. — 399, Death of Socrates. — 394, Battle of Coronea. — 387, Peace of 
Antalcidas. — 371, Leuctra. — 362. Mantinea. — 338, Chaeronea. — 331, Arbela. 
— 323, Alexander, d. — 312, iEra of the Seleucidas. 

Rome, — 396, Yeii taken. — 390, Rome taken by the Gauls. — 366, Plebeian 
consuls. — 343, Samnite Wars. — 321, Candine Forks. 

Literature, &c. — 401, Xenophon ; Ctesias; Isocrates, b. 436; Plato; De- 
mosthenes; Aristotle; Epicurus; Menander. 

Discoveries. — 360, Analysis, by Plato. — 333, Encaustic Painting. — 306, Sun- 
dial at Rome, by Paririus Cursor. — 300, Colossus of Rhodes; Operation for 
Cataract, by Herophilus. 

GREECE. 

Death of Socrates, 399. — This philosopher, one of the most cele- 
brated of antiquity, was bom at Athens. In his early days he pursued 
the trade of his father Sophroniscus, who was a sculptor, but abandoned 
this pursuit for the more enchanting study of mental science. He was 
a virtuous man, and one of his most characteristic qualities was a tran- 
quillity of mind, which could not be shaken by any accident, by any 
reverse of fortune or insulting language. Even the violent temper of 
his wife Xantippe, a name become proverbial, never made him forget 
his patience. He effected a real revolution in Philosophy; he attacked 
the method of his contemporaries, by laying down self-knowledge as 
the basis of all inquiries. By this means he substituted the method of 
observation for that of rash hypothesis ; he was in fact the creator of the 
science of Ethics, and founded his precepts on the conscience. His 
manner of teaching was novel and attractive; his was no regular 
method, but each auditor was skilfully conducted by a simple species 
of interrogation from one truth to another until he arrived at a just con- 
clusion. This mode of reasoning still bears the name of the Suc?-atic. 
His virtuous life, his principles of morality, his belief in the existence 
of a supreme ruler of the universe, and of the immortality of the soul, 
found as many enemies as disciples. Under the government of the 
Thirty Tyrants, Melitus, Anytus, and Lycon accused him before the 
council of Five Hundred, of corrupting the youth, of despising the gods, 
and of endeavouring to introduce new divinities. The real ground of 
this charge appears to have been the offence which his intimacy with 
Caitias and Alcibiades gave to the democratic party. The minds of the 
populace being easily inflamed by a misrepresentation of his doctrines, 
he was condemned to drink hemlock, and his death did not belie his - 
principles. A short time afterwards, the Athenians repented of thei* 
injustice, and, by way of atonement, condemned Melitus to death, and 
the others to banishment. A bronze statue, by the celebrated Lysippus, 
was raised to his honour, and a temple was dedicated to his memory. 
His actions, conversations, and opinions have been transmitted to us by 
the two most distinguished of his disciples, Xenophon and Plato. 

Philosophic Sects. 
The Greeks recognised two principal schools of Philosophy ; the Ionian and the 
Italian. These admit of many subdivisions, from the different principles of 
their founders. 



FOURTH CENTURY R. C 



83 



Ionian School 

This school, distinguished for its reason and good sense, was founded by 
T hales of Miletus, 548 b. c. He travelled extensively, learned Geometry in 
Egypt, and Astronomy in Phoenicia. With him commenced the study of 
Natural Philosophy. Anaxagoras, the tutor of Pericles (480-450), Socrates, 
and Plato, belonged to this school. Its chief sects were — 

The Academicians, founded by Plato, one of the greatest geniuses of anti- 
quity. Dion, Aristotle, Isocrates, and Demosthenes, were among his 
followers. 

The Peripatetics, founded by Aristotle, the preceptor of Alexander the 
Great, the most voluminous and profound writer of all antiquity. 

The Cynics, founded by Antisthenes, who placed happiness in the practice 
of virtue, which he taught was the contempt of wealth, and of the enjoyments 
of life. Diogenes destroyed the reputation of this sect by the excess to which 
he carried its doctrines. 

The Stoics, a revival of the Cynics by Zeno, who taught the celebrated 
dogma, that pain is no evil, the only real evils being moral imperfections. He 
said that we should follow virtue instinctively, and practise benevolence from 
inclination. Epaminondas, Trajan, and Marcus Aurelius, professed the doc- 
trines of the porch. 

Italian School. 

Pythagoras founded this school between 540 and 510 b. c. during the reign 
of Tarquin the Proud. He quitted Samos, his native country, and after 
travelling through the East, where he imbibed many of his peculiar doctrines, 
he settled at Crotona, in Southern Italy, and there effected a complete revolu- 
tion of ideas and manners. He was a great mathematician and natural philoso- 
pher, and taught the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. The chief sub- 
divisions of this school were — 

The Sceptics, founded by Pyrrho, 336 b. c. who doubted of every thing. 
They asserted that no truth or positive knowledge existed which we could 
attain by our senses or reasoning. The supreme good was placed in ataraxy 
and apathy, in suspension of judgment and in calmness of soul. 

The Epicureans, whose founder was Epicurus, placed the supreme good in 
the practice of virtue, and in the pleasurable emotions excited by benevolence. 
His followers degraded these doctrines by assuming the pleasures of the senses 
to be the only happiness. Horace, Virgil, Atticus, and Maecenas, belonged 
to this sect. They appear to have admitted the existence of God, but to have 
denied a Providence. 

The school of the Eleatics was founded by Xenophanes of Colophon, at 
Elsea in Western Italy, 538. To it belonged Parmenides, Zeno, and Hera- 
clitus the Ephesian. Their main doctrine taught that God was all in all, and 
could be represented by no graven image. 

Consult: Enfield's History of Philosophy; Anacharsis. 





Synoptical 


Table. 




Names of 
Philosophers. 


Birthplace. 


Time. 1 Sect. 


■ ' I 
Particulars. 








1 



Agesilaus, king of Sparta, who was as insignificant in person, as he 
was noble in martial qualities, carried on a successful war against Persia 
(396-394), but was recalled in the midst of victory to contend against 
the Athenians and their allies. The Persian court, despairing of safety. 



84 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

had adopted the prudent course of subsidizing the Grecian states, and 
exciting 1 them to take arms against each other. The Athenians, having 
recovered from the ruinous government of the Thirty Tyrants, had re- 
built the walls of their city, and also, under the guidance of Conon, 395, 
thrown off the Spartan yoke. Agesilaus checked for a season this 
returning prosperity, by the disastrous battle of Coronea. The defeat 
of the Lacedaemonians, in the sea-fight near Cnidus, by Conon, who 
served with the Persians (b. c. 394), led finally to the peace of Antal- 
cidas, so called from the name of the Laconian negotiator. The repu- 
tation of Sparta suffered by this disgraceful treaty, which was dictated 
by the Eastern monarch : the Greek cities of Asia were declared subject 
to him, though the independence of their states in Europe was acknow- 
ledged. Sixty years before this, Cimon had dictated conditions to 
Artaxerxes Longimanus ; but now the supreme state of Sparta was 
compelled to accept those of Artaxerxes Mnemon. The treaty was 
signed 8th August, 387 b. c, and by one of its clauses, Persia engaged 
to compel the ratification of the treaty by force of arms. Conon was 
accused of treason for endeavouring to oppose its ratification, and car- 
ried to Susa, where he was poisoned. Thrasybulus, the liberator of 
Athens, perished in a trifling squabble between his troops and some 
peasants ; and Sparta lost her influence at the very period when the 
obscure Theban republic began to acquire a name. 

Theban War. — Thebes had hitherto been a blank in Grecian history ; 
but the unjust occupation of the citadel of that town by the Lacedaemo- 
nians called forth the talents of Epaminondas and Pelopidas. The 
latter liberated the city from its foreign garrison ; while the former 
asserted the independence of his country, and successfully maintained it 
on the field of Leuctra, where the flower of the Spartan youth perished, 
371 b. c. The Lacedaemonians were now in their turn to suffer the 
horrors of invasion. Epamindos overran the country, and at Mantinea 
in Arcadia, the Thebans again triumphed, but at the expense of their 
brave general's life, and with him ended their brief supremacy, 362 b. c. 
Both states were weakened and exhausted by the war, and there was 
no longer a predominating power in Greece. Even Athens had lost a 
great part of her influence, together with three of her most celebrated 
commanders. 

Macedon. — The foundations of the Macedonian monarchy were laid 
in the eighth century b. c, by Caranus, a descendant of Hercules. His 
successors, and the people over whom they ruled, were long considered 
as barbarians by the more polished inhabitants of the South ; and dur- 
ing 400 years they were under the protection of Sparta, Athens, or of 
Thebes. On the death of Amyntas II. (309), civil dissensions agitated 
the kingdom, which were not appeased until Pelopidas entered the 
country with a strong army. On his return to Thebes, he led with him 
numerous hostages, among which was Philip, the brother of King Per- 
diccas III., whom he succeeded under the title of Philip II. 359 b. c. 
To strengthen his usurped power, he improved the discipline of the 
troops, and formed the celebrated phalanx on the model of the Sacred 
Battalion of Thebes. He married Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, 
king of Epirus, and became the father of Alexander III. surnamed the 
Great (356). 

1. Sacred War, b. c. 359. — The Phocians, who had been fined by 



FOURTH CENTURY H. C. 85 

the Amphictyonic council for having committed sacrilege by ploughing 
up some consecrated ground near the fane of Apollo, resisted payment, 
and seized on the treasures in the temple of Delphi, to support the 
expenses of the war. After ten years the struggle was brought to a 
satisfactory conclusion, principally by the intervention of Philip, who 
was rewarded by the seat in the Amphictyonic council, which had been 
forfeited by Phocis. A second war led to the disastrous battle of Chae- 
ronea, 338 b. c, in which the Athenians and their allies were defeated 
by the Macedonian king, and the country laid prostrate at his feet. 
While forming new projects for the conquest of Persia, at the head of 
the confederated army of Greece, he was assassinated by Pausanias, 
336 b.c. 

Demosthenes the orator was at the head of an Athenian party, which, 
with greater foresight than their rivals, beheld the subjugation of their 
native land in the ambitious designs of Philip. But his eloquence was 
exerted in vain; and like Cassandra, he predicted coming woes only to 
see his cautions heedlessly rejected. While he was exciting the people 
to war, Phocion was proclaiming the necessity of peace. Still he did 
not less exert his military talents in defence of his country, and com- 
pelled the invader to raise the siege of Byzantium. Had he command- 
ed at the battle of Chaeronea, the fortune of the day might have been 
changed. 

Consult : Leland's History of Philip of Macedon. 

Alexander ~,ae Great. — Alexander and his unfortunate antagonist 
Darius ascended the throne in the same year, 336 b. c. Taking courage 
from the youth of the new monarch, who was only twenty years old, 
the Illyrians, Triballians, and other barbarous tribes reduced by Philip, 
endeavoured to recover their independence ; but with an impetuosity 
and speed which T affled calculation, Alexander crushed his various 
antagonists with almost a single blow. A false report of his death 
having reached Thebes, the people rose and massacred the Macedonian 
garrison, and organized an extensive revolution. These plans were 
thwarted by the rapid movements of the king, who, before two weeks 
elapsed, reached Bceotia at the head of an army flushed with victory. 
The capital was taken by assault, and all the horrors that could be prac- 
tised by an unrestrained soldiery befell the inhabitants. Every house 
was rased to the ground, the surviving women and children were sold 
into slavery, and its territory was allotted to the victorious allies ; but 
the dwelling of Pindar, and of all connected by blood with the poet, 
were saved in the general ruin. There is reason to believe that the 
melancholy catastrophe of Thebes took place without the authority of 
Alexander, as general in chief of the Amphictyonic council. Athens 
and other states who had favoured her views, now sent embassies, and 
submitted to the conqueror. 

Having thus successfully defeated every opposition which had assail- 
ed his throne, he prepared to carry into effect the projects of his father, 
by the invasion of Asia. In the spring of 334, he began his march at 
the head of 30,000 infantry, and about 5000 cavalry. Antipatei was 
left behind to watch over his interests in Greece, while Parmenio, one 
of Philip's experienced and valiant generals, was appointed his lieuten- 
ant in the field. After indulging his ardent imagination by a visit to 
8 



86 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

the scenes described in the Iliad, his favourite poem,* Alexander has- 
tened to join his troops, which had crossed the straits to Abydos. At 
the passage of the Granicus the first struggle ensued, the king himself 
dashing into the river, at the head of the companion-cavalry. Disre- 
garding all personal risk, with his own lance he killed the Persian 
leader, being himself twice saved by the activity of his friends. The 
example of the monarch was followed by all his troops, and the rout of 
the enemy soon became general. All Asia westward of Mount Taurus 
fell into his hands as he advanced. The rich provinces of Phrygia, 
Lydia, and Caria, the great cities of Ephesus, Sardis, and Miletus, were 
compelled to submit to his authority. Darius now appointed Memnon 
commander-in-chief both of the land and naval forces; but while this 
prudent soldier was carrying into execution a well-devised plan that 
would have been fatal to Alexander's progress, he was suddenly cut off 
by death. The battle of Issus, in which the Persian ruler commanded 
in person, soon followed ; but fortune still proving adverse, he w r as com- 
pelled to flee, leaving his mother, wife, and children, in the power of 
the victor. 

Syria, with its capital Damascus, and Phoenicia, the cradle of Gre- 
cian literature and tradition, next invited his arms. Sidon readily threw 
off the Persian yoke, but Tyre, refusing to admit Alexander within her 
walls, was taken and sacked after a resistance of seven months. This 
city was no easy capture : it had baffled Shalmaneser, and compelled 
him to return, after a siege of live years ; and during the lapse of thir- 
teen resisted the attacks of Nebuchadnezzar. Egypt next surrendered 
without a blow; and not limiting his views in that country to ephemeral 
conquest or vain d ; splay, he laid the foundations of a new r city, to be 
called after his own name, and which soon became the capital of the 
country, the depot of science, and the centre of the commerce of the 
Eastern world. While he was thus occupied in the south, Darius was 
preparing for a final and desperate struggle, in the very heart of his 
dominions. The Grecian army rapidly marched through Syria, crossed 
the Euphrates and Tigris, which had been left unguarded, and reached 
Gaugamela or the Camel's House, so called from the animal which bore 
Darius Hystaspes from his Scythian expedition. Here Alexander found 
himself in front of 600,000 men, of all tribes and nations, hastily col- 
lected from various provinces. So great a host being weak in propor- 
tion to its numbers, the confusion produced by the first charge of the 
Macedonians could not be recovered ; and after a brief conflict, the 
great king once more became a fugitive, 331 b. c. From Arbela, by 
which name this victory is generally known, the conqueror proceeded 
to Babylon and Susa (Shusham of Scripture), when the accumulated 
treasures of a long race of monarchs fell into his hands. The march 
to Persepolis, the capital of Ancient Persia, was not effected without 
obstruction and danger ; but the city was at length reached in time to 
save the treasures from plunder by the retreating soldiers. The palace 
is said to have been afterwards reduced to ashes in mere wantonness, at 
the instigation of the beautiful Lais.f 

* Et, voyageur arme pour conquerir la terre, 

Alexandre en Asie emporta son Homere.— Lebrun. 
t Other accounts say that the destruction of the palace was an act of stern retalia- 
tion for the demolition of the Grecian temples by Xerxes. The Persian writers make 



FOURTH CENTURY B. C. 87 

After his defeat, Darius had fled into Media, where he hoped to 
organize such resistance as might arrest the progress of the invader. 
In Greece, too, events were occurring which might have materially 
injured the cause of Alexander. Lacedaemon was at the head of the 
disaffected party, and Demosthenes was endeavouring to excite the 
Athenians to share in the intrigues. Antipater, however, was not want- 
ing in vigour during this emergency, and in a battle which shortly after 
ensued, the hopes of Spartan supremacy were frustrated, their troops 
defeated, and King Agis slain, while fifty of her principal citizens were 
compelled to hecome hostages for her future conduct. Probably being 
informed of this unexpected change in the affairs of Greece, Darius fled 
from Ecbatana towards the Caucasus, accompanied with not more than 
10,000 men. Actively pursued by Alexander, he was killed by the 
sword of one of his own officers before the conqueror could overtake 
him; and Bessus, the murderer, who had assumed the regal title, fell 
shortly after into the hands of the King of Macedon, by whom he was 
scourged and mutilated, 330 b. c. 

About this time the conqueror learnt that Philotas, the son of Par- 
menio, had entertained designs against his life ; and the offender, with 
his father, suffered death, according to the decision of a tribunal of their 
countrymen. Clitus, who had saved his prince's life at the Granicus, 
and had been appointed to the companion-cavalry after the execution of 
Philotas, was, in a fit of ungoverned passion or of intoxication, stabbed 
by him to the heart. Nothing for a time could allay the bitter regret 
which Alexander felt, and at the moment he could scarcely be restrained 
from plunging the bloody weapon into his own bosom. 

In becoming the sovereign of Asia, the Macedonian aimed at per- 
manency of dominion, and with this view assumed the Median dress, 
married Roxana, a Persian lady of high rank, and in his internal policy 
contemplated the prosperity of his new empire. But all his enemies 
were not yet subdued, and the victorious leader next carried his arms, 
with his wonted fortune, beyond the Indus, and was meditating an 
expedition as far as the Ganges. During his progress in India, he 
earned into execution his plans for promoting a communication between 
that country and Greece ; and a fleet under Nearchus was fitted" out to 
gain the desired information, by exploring the coasts of the Indian 
Ocean and Persian Gulf. Returning from these distant scenes of con- 
quest, he reached Susa once more, where Barcine or Statira, the beauti- 
ful daughter of Darius, became his wife. Proceeding thence to Ecba- 
tana, he offered magnificent sacrifices, followed by festive games, in 
gratitude for his long-continued success. It was here that he lost his 
early and dearest friend, Hephaestion. He now returned to Babylon, 

no mention of this circumstance, or of the death of Bcetis, Clitus, Callisthenes, and the 
other acts of debauchery, pride, and cruelty, with which the Greeks and their Latin 
copyists have loaded the memory of Alexander. These historians represent him, on 
the contrary, as a model of public and private virtues. This difference is supposed to 
arise from the protection afforded by the king to the vanquished against the exactions 
of the victors, who desired nothing better than to sit down and enjoy their conquests 
at their ease. Before they could divide the im-mense spoils, it was necessary to be freed 
from his presence, and his actions were calumniated that his death might be the less 
regretted. The Greeks were all king-haters, and the Macedonian sovereigns who had 
subjugated them were particularly the objects of their abhorrence. They listened with 
an easy belief to all the scandalous tales which were brought from the East, and com 
mitted them to an imperishable memorial in their writings. 



38 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

regardless of the warnings said to have been given by the Chaldean 
seers, and of the various omens that had preceded his entry into that 
city. Here, while engaged in plans for improving his future capital, 
and for restoring to the ancient Assyrian empire its former supremacy 
in arms and commerce, he was attacked by a fatal disease, of which he 
died on the eleventh day of his illness, 323 b. c. He was cut off in the 
flower of his age, when much might have been expected from the 
maturer years of one whose youth had given such brilliant promise : he 
died in the midst of his grand designs, at the moment when a career of 
usefulness appeared to be opening before him. But although our minds 
cannot fathom the designs of Infinite Intelligence in thus removing him 
at the most important period of his life, we are not to conclude that all 
is the result of chance. In the words of the historian, we may add, 
that " not without especial purpose of the deity was such a man given 
to the world, to whom none has ever yet been equal." 

Partition of the Empire. — The death of the illustrious conqueror 
became the signal of discord, and his vast empire a theatre of war and 
revolution: but from the multitude of candidates who aspired simul- 
taneously to the supreme command, the history of this period is thrown 
into almost inextricable confusion. — Perdiccas by general consent was 
appointed regent, and the kingdom divided into thirty-three provinces, 
corresponding to the number of generals. This distinguished leader fell 
shortly after by the hand of an assassin, and Antipater succeeded to his 
office : disorder continued to reign among the numerous successors of 
Alexander, and each party was by turns victorious or defeated. 

Lamian War. — Taking advantage of these disturbances, the Athe- 
nians, excited by Demosthenes, in opposition to the counsels of Phocion, 
entered into a league to throw off the Macedonian yoke. Leosthenes, 
the generalissimo of the allies, gained two victories over Antipater, by 
which the Greeks were quite intoxicated ; but at Cranon these advan- 
tages were lost, and Athens itself was with difficulty preserved. The 
orator waa compelled to flee and take refuge in the temple of Neptune 
at Calauria, when, being reduced to the last extremity, he swallowed 
poison and died, 322 b. c. 

Another revolution placed the regency in the hands of Polysperchon, 
who, desirous of the support of the Greeks, re-established the govern- 
ment of their cities, 319 b. c. Athens made an unjust use of the restora- 
tion of her democracy, in the accusation of Phocion and his condemnation 
without being allowed the privilege of defence. He suffered like many 
of his illustrious predecessors; and even after death, the fury of the 
populace forbade the interment of his corpse. Probity was the charac- 
teristic of this great man; he was elected general forty-five times, was 
always victorious and always poor. Although compelled to perform 
the duties of domestic life, generally intrusted to the slaves, he refused 
a hundred talents which Alexander wished to force upon him. Deme- 
trius Phalerius, a wise and learned person, whom Cassander some time 
after (318) appointed his lieutenant, met with a fate different from that 
of Phocion. Three hundred and sixty statues were erected in gratitude 
for his skilful administration ; but they were, with true Athenian fic- 
kleness, as suddenly thrown down as they had been raised. He retired 
to Egypt, and consoled himself with literary pursuits at the court of 
Ptolem) Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, who had delivered Athens 



FOURTH CENTURY B.C. 89 

and nearly all Greece (307), was appointed generalissimo in 302, and 
four years after driven into banishment. He gained the epithet of 
Poliorceies, or vanquisher of cities, by his great success in the reduction 
of fortified places. 

Ambitious, and jealous of each other, the generals of Alexander had 
never ceased to contend for the spoils of his vast empire. At last, after 
a long alternation of success and reverses, the united army of Ptolemy, 
Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus, gained at Ipsus in Phrygia a 
decisive victory over Antigonus and his son Poliorcetes. The father 
perished on the field, while th<> other not without difficulty escaped to 
Greece with the fleet and a remnant of his army, 301 b. c. The 
dominions of the son of Philip were now divided into four large king- 
doms :* Macedon and Greece, and the western parts, under Cassander; 
Thrace, Bithynia, and the northern parts, under Lysimachus ; Egypt, 
and the south, under Ptolemy, son of Lagus ; and Syria, with the east, 
under Seleucus. With the establishment of this last king at Babylon 
commences the Era of the SeleuciDjEJ" (312 b. c), which was in use 
until 65 b. c. 

Arts, Literature, and Science among the Greeks. 

The Greeks cultivated Letters and the Arts with a perfection that places 
them in the first rank of civilised nations, and the monuments the> have left in 
every branch have shed a glory upon their country that almost obscures their 
military fame. It is in the period beginning with Solon and terminating with 
Alexander, that most of the great men flourished who brought such renown on 
the Grecian name. 

Architecture. — During the administration of Pericles, architecture sprang 
from rude forms to perfection. From the Greeks we derive three orders or 
styles, the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian ; from the Romans, the Tus- 
can and the Composite ; from the Goths, the Gothic, in which most of our 
ancient cathedrals are constructed. The Tuscan order is the simplest and least 
ornamented. The essential character of the Doric is solidity ; of the Ionic, 
delicacy and elegance; of the Corinthian, nobility and grace. The Composite 
is, as its name indicates, a mixture of Ionic and Corinthian. The temple of 
Ceres and Proserpine at Eleusis was built in the Doric manner; that of Diana 
at Ephesus and of Apollo at Miletus, in the Ionic ; the temple of the Olympian 
Jupiter at Athens, in the Corinthian ; the column of Trajan at Rome, in the 
Tuscan ; and the Pantheon in the Composite. 

Sculpture. — The ancient sculptors made use of wood, stone, marble, ivory, 
precious stones, as the agate, several metals, as gold, silver, copper, brass, and 
different other plastic substances, such as clay, plaster, and wax. The most 
celebrated statuaries were Phidias, Polycletus, Myro, Lysippus, and Praxiteles. 
The Elgin marbles in the British Museum are supposed to have been carved 
under the direction of Phidias, part being the work of his own hand ; the famous 
horses of Venice are said to be the production of Lysippus. 

Painting. — We have no specimens to show that this elegant art was carried 
to so high a degree of perfection as sculpture. The Greeks made use of only 
four colours, black, white, red, and yellow. Down to the age of Nero, paint- 
ings were executed chiefly on wood : at this period canvass began to be 
employed, but it seems clearly demonstrated that the ancients were entirely 
unacquainted with oil-painting. They wrought in distemper and in fresco ; the 

*This partition of the empire of Alexander remarkably fulfils the prophecy of Daniel 
(chap, viii.): "The great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones, 
toward the four winds of heaven." 

fUsed in the East by Pagans, Jews, Christians, and Mahommedans,— called Era "»f 
Contracts hv the Jews. 



90 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

former, on wooden tablets, with colours mingled with gum-water ; the latter, 
on walls covered with fresh and undried plaster. They practised also painting 
in various kinds of wax, in miniature, enamel, and mosaic. The most celebrated 
artists of antiquity were, Polygnotus, Apollodorus, Zeuxis. Parrhasius, Pam- 
philus, Timanthes, Apelles, Aristides, Protogenes, and Pausias, almost all 
fellow-countrymen and contemporaries of the sculptors named above. 

Music. — The object of music among the Greeks was to elevate the mind 
rather than charm the ear ; it excited to courage in battle, softened the manners 
of the savage, and thus contributed to the progress of civilisation. Music hav- 
ing there apolitical end, was cultivated with great care, and formed in a certain 
measure part of their national education. In Sparta, every innovation in the 
art was strictly forbidden, and a musician was banished who had ventured to 
increase the number of the strings of the lyre. 

Poetry. — Thespis, of Attic birth, is the reputed inventor of the dramatic art, 
595 b. c. vEschylus, who lived in the time of Xerxes, and shared with his 
brother Cynaegirus the dangers of the Persian wars, distinguished himself as 
an author in that department. The battle off Salamis, at which he was present, 
forms the subject of one of his tragedies. Sophocles surpassed him in purity 
and simplicity : of his numerous compositions only seven remain. Euripides, 
the rival of Sophocles, carried, in the opinion of the eminent critic Aristotle, 
the pathetic power of tragedy to its greatest height. 

Susarion of Megara, a contemporary of Thespis. is said to have been the 
inventor of comedy ; Aristophanes, unequalled for his wit and genius, both too 
frequently defiled by the grossness of his time, introduced the living manners 
on the stage. The political aims of his comedies can scarcely be accurately 
appreciated by the moderns. Menander, the predecessor of the Roman 
Terence, made ideal characters the vehicle of his sentiments and of his 
story. 

In lyric poetry we meet with the name of Simonides and of the unrivalled 
Pindar, who devoted their genius to the celebration of the victors at the Public 
Games, about 390 b. c. Anacreon confined his muse to Epicurean and comic 
strains ; Alcseus, Sappho, and Archilochus sang the pleasures and the pangs 
of love. 

Writing. — In the first ages of the world, writing was confined to characters 
graven on stone or plates of metal. Palm-leaves came subsequently into use, 
and then the inner bark (liber) of certain trees ; soon afterwards, canvass and 
tablets covered with wax were employed. Paper was introduced in the age of 
Alexander ; it was fabricated from the papyrus, a plant still growing on the 
banks of the Nile and in Sicily. Eumenes, king of Pergamus, was the inventor 
of parchment, and gave it the name it bears. 

Eloquence. — Eloquence could not fail to be in great esteem among the 
Greeks, with whom it was the principal instrument of polity and the mainspring 
of government. Pericles was the first who gained any lasting reputation by 
this popular talent ; he was followed by Isocrates, Demades. JEschines, Lysias, 
Aristides, — all of whom were greatly surpassed by Demosthenes. 

History. — History, according to the ideas of the ancients, had a close con- 
nexion with oratory. They were satisfied with the narrative, provided it con 
tnined long speeches gratuitously put into the mouths of actual personages. 
Herodotus, surnamrd the Father of History, is at the head of the list ; Thucy- 
dides, the most perfect of all, was the model adopted by Tacitus : Xenophon 
was the author of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand, and of the Cyropaedia. 
Polybius, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Diodorus Siculus appeared sub- 
sequently. 

Philosophy. — Greece gave birth to a great number of men, who, under the 
name of philosophers, were occupied chiefly with the first principles oi civil 
polity find the duties of society. They were divided into a great number of 
sects, the chief of which have been enumerated above, page 83. 



FOURTH CENTURY B. C. 91 

Remarks on the History of Alexander. 

With the death of Epaminondas at Mantinea (362), and of Agesilaus in his 
return from Egypt, terminates the history of the Greek commonwealths. 
Their era was completed ; that of the Macedonians was beginning. All the 
republics united around three centres — Sparta, Thebes, Athens; but their 
energies were exhausted when Philip appeared on the scene. His son per- 
severed in his father's course, though on a much larger theatre. Mind was 
marching to the conquest of matter; despotism was about to yield to liberty. 
Greece restored to the East the knowledge she had received from it. "' Thus," 
says Michelet, "this little imprisoned world declared eternal war against all 
the relics of natural life in the oriental tribes. This form, by which the Pelasgi 
had imitated Asia in Europe, was effaced by Athens and by Rome. In this 
contest were strongly characterized the three epochs of Greece ; she attacked 
Asia in the Trojan War, — repelled her at Salamis, — subdued her under 
Alexander." 

We should not regard this hero as a mere warrior sighing for fresh worlds 
to conquer ; he is to be admired rather for his sagacity and discrimination, 
evinced in the political regulations of the various states which were subjected 
to his authority. He was the messenger of the Almighty sent forth to work 
his predicted ends ; to effect no transient conquests, but to open the path into 
the remote East; to introduce the Grecian language, the medium of civilisation 
and Christianity, into those countries; and to prepare secretly yet power- 
fully the way for that dispensation, which "in the fulness of time" was to 
enlighten the countries he traversed as a conqueror. " The fortune of Alexan- 
der was indeed the overruling providence of God." 

Measured by years, his life was short ; long, if we reckon it by events. How 
great was his progress in a few months ! He was no longer King of Macedon, 
but the conqueror of the world; at his death it remained without a master. 
His generals were brave, sagacious, enterprising, and successful, so long as 
they fought under his eye. When he was no more, disunion and dissension 
followed ; and the capital of the world was removed to Rome. " She enclosed 
within her walls two cities and two races, Tuscan and Sabine ; sacerdotal and 
military; eastern and western; patrician and plebeian; landed property and 
personal; stability and progression ; nature and liberty. It was now her turn 
to rule." From these apparently discordant materials, we shall soon perceive 
how Rome became, even in consequence of them, the mistress of the world. 

Consult: Williams' Life of Alexander. 

Prepare : A Map of the World after the division of Alexander's Empire. 

ROME. 
Preliminary Observations on the Gauls. 

The Gauls or Celts now first appeared in history. They were a warlike 
people, who, about two centuries before this period, had crossed the Alps under 
the command of Bellovesus, and settled in the north of Italy, or Hither Gaul, 
having exterminated the whole population. Their chief pursuits were pasturage 
and war: the form of government was a hereditary monarchy : their religion, 
Druidical. The strength of their armies consisted in cavalry or in chariots ; 
and the huge bodies wild features, and shaggy hair of the men, struck terror 
into their enemies. They were badly equipped ; armour was rare, their shields 
were small, their swords long, thin, and brittle. They hung the heads of the 
slain to their horses' manes, and in many of their houses might be seen, nailed 
up as an heirloom, the skull of some person of rank who had fallen before them 
in battle. Their towns were few, their habitations mean and comfortless. 
They betrayed an extreme passion for golden ornaments, which they ever 
wore in battle. Their cloaks shone with all the hues of the rainbow, like the 
picturesque dresses of the Highlanders. 



92 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Capture of Rome, 390 b. c. — Allured by the luxuries and climate of 
Italy, successive invaders pushed farther south, crossed the Apennines, 
and appeared before Clusium, where first they attracted the attention of 
Rome, and -whither ambassadors were sent to ascertain who these 
foreigners were. The envoys having improperly taken part in a battle, 
the Gauls demanded that they should be given up. The senate con- 
sented, but the people refused ; upon which the invading army, 70,000 
strong, under Brennus, marched towards the city. They were met on 
the banks of the Allia by 40,000 men, who were defeated with terrible 
slaughter, and before nightfall the enemy were at the gates of Rome. 
The town was deserted, but the Capitol was held by about 1000 despe- 
rate combatants. During several days the city was given up to plunder, 
and, with a few exceptions, all the houses were burned to the ground. 
Part of the conquering army now continued thei: advance, and the 
remainder almost succeeded in taking the Capitol, the defenders of 
which were reduced to the last extremities by famine. Brennus, after 
remaining seven months, was induced to accept a thousand pounds 
weight of gold as the price of quitting Rome and her territories, upon 
which he led his people home without encountering opposition. The 
story of their subsequent defeat by Camillus is a fiction of Roman vanity. 

It was now proposed that the seat of government should be removed 
to Veii, a town equal to Rome in magnitude and beauty, when the lucky 
omen of a word decided the question, and within a year a new city rose 
from the ashes of the former. Fresh wars ensued ; Roman fortune 
again prevailed ; the Sabines, Etrurians, Latins, iEqui, and Volsci, 
were successively defeated, and the Gauls, who bad attempted a second 
invasion, were routed with great slaughter. But Rome still suffered 
much from the former assault of that fierce people; though this, which 
elsewhere was a deathblow to liberty, raised the constitution nearly to a 
perfect state. The oppressive rate of interest, the power which the 
creditor still possessed, and not unfrequently exercised, of life and death 
over the debtor, had reduced the lower orders to desperation. Manlius, 
the preserver of the Capitol, took pity on the helpless people. On the 
retreat of the invaders, he had found himself neglected, while all civil 
and military honours were heaped upon his enemy Camillus. His first 
actions, which resulted from the pure feelings of humanity, led him to 
become the patron of the commonalty. The measures by which he 
proposed to alleviate the public distress excited the anger of the patri- 
cians, who charged him with aiming at despotic power, and committed 
him to prison, from which he was soon afterwards released. He was 
again accused by the tribunes, with the design of driving him into exile, 
but he was unanimously acquitted. Still thirsting for his blood, the 
public prosecutors once more arraigned him ; he was on this accusation 
condemned to death, and a slave treacherously pushed him down the 
fatal Tarpeian rock, 384 b. c. 

Licinian Laws. — The universal distress had now reached the highest 
pitch, and Rome was on the point of degenerating into a miserable 
oligarchy, when two men appeared who changed the fate of their coun- 
try and that of the world. In the year 376 b. c, Licinius Stolo and L. 
Sextius were chosen tribunes. The celebrated rogations, which they 
brought forward, produced a violent opposition between the two parties 
of the state, which lasted six years. Though the country was fortu- 



FOURTH OENTURU B.C. 93 

nately at peace, sucli a condition of affairs was unsafe; and at length, 
Camillus mediating between the patricians and the commonalty, tho 
rogations passed the senate. By these, the consuls, one of whom was 
to be a plebeian, replaced the military tribunes; the laws of debtor and 
creditor were altered ; an Agrarian law was enacted, limiting the shares 
of the public lands to 500 acres and the taxes to be raised upon them, 
and enjoining that free labourers should be employed in their cultivation. 
The consular power was however diminished by committing judicial 
affairs to a praetor, and by the appointment of curule aediles, 306 b. c. 
L, Sextius Lateranus was the first plebeian consul ; and the commons 
having once made good their claim to this high olfice, were not long 
before they participated in the others. They were admitted to the dic- 
tatorship, 359 ; the censorship, 351 ; the pnetorship, 337 ; and the priest- 
hood, 301 b. c. A second commercial treaty with Carthage (348) shows 
that the Roman navy was at this time far from contemptible ; and though, 
it appears to have been merely piratical, squadrons were equipped and 
sent from their ports before the close of the century. 

Samnite Wars, 343 b. c. — The Samnites inhabited the mountains 
towards the kingdom of Naples, and had spread still farther to the 
south, when the Campanians, with whom they were at war, applied to 
Rome for assistance, which was readily granted. The former made a 
long and vigorous resistance ; but being at last routed by Decius, 30,000 
of them were left dead on the field. The Roman arms were now turned 
against the Latins, who had long been their allies. A war, which dif- 
fered little from a civil contest, broke out; and in a conflict at the foot 
of Vesuvius, the Latin and Samnite forces would have conquered, but 
for the patriotic sacrifice of Decius, who, clad in magnificent robes, 
rushed into the ranks of the enemy, where he fell under a thousand 
wounds. A cruel revenge was taken by the victors, and Latium was 
rendered for ever incapable of opposing their power, 338 b. c. A signal 
disgrace, it is true, was inflicted on their army at the Caudine Forks, 
321 b.c. ; but it was soon effaced, and Samnium reduced to submission, 
after a struggle of more than fifty years, 290 b. c. These wars opened 
a way to the subjugation of Italy, and laid the foundation of Roman 
greatness. A new species of tactics was learnt ; the relations with 
neighbouring states were more firmly established ; and the influence of 
Rome extended to the most distant parts of the Peninsula. 

The internal discords of the city were ended about this period in con- 
sequence of three laws introduced by Publilius Philo, the dictator: — 
1st, The office of censor was made common to the two orders; 2d, The 
veto was taken away from the curiae; 3d, The plebiscita, or decrees of 
the people, were rendered binding on the whole state; the distinction 
between patricians and commons being now merely nominal. Thus 
was the constitution completed, and Rome rapidly advanced to universal 
empire, 286 b. c. 

JUD^A. 

Judaea now became part of the Syrian prefecture, under the heads of 
the priesthood, subject to the civil and military control of the Persian 
satraps, 373 b. c. The meagre annals of this period record but one 
remarkable event, and that an atrocious crime, perpetrated by the high 
priest Jonathan, who, suspecting his brother Joshua of intrioruinrr with 



94 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Bagosfcs, the imperial governor, slew him within the precincts of the 
temple. Bagoses hastened to Jerusalem, forced his way into the holy 
edifice, and imposed a heavy tax on the sacrifices as a penalty for that 
outrage. Alexander passed under the walls of the city, which he was 
induced to spare by the timely submission of the people, while he bow- 
ed in adoration before the name of Jehovah, inscribed on the head-dress 
of the high priest Jaddua. He was shown the prophecies in which 
Daniel had foretold his conquest of the Persian empire, at which cir- 
cumstance he was so much pleased, that he took the Jews into par- 
ticular favour, 332 b. c. After his death and the division of his empire, 
Palestine was regarded as a valuable frontier province both by the 
Syrian and Egyptian kings. It fell at last into the hands of Ptolemy 
Soter, who took Jerusalem by treachery on the Sabbath, and led a great 
multitude of the inhabitants captive into Egypt, 312 b. c. Philadel- 
phus, on his accession to the throne, released 120,000 of them, and 
caused the famous translation of the Hebrew Bible, called the Septua- 
gint, to be prepared by seventy learned men. The fables concerning 
the isolation of these translators and the perfect coincidence of their 
versions, are utterly unworthy of credit. The high priest Simon the 
Just, the favourite hero of Jewish traditions, died in 292 ; an event that 
is said to have been announced by prodigies, and which the nation had 
cause to lament, while groaning under his unworthy successors. He 
completed the Canon of the Ancient Scriptures, which has never since 
been changed. About this time the sects of the Pharisees, Sadducees, 
and Essenes, assumed their peculiar distinctions. 

PERSIA. 

The safe retreat of the Ten Thousand, and the subsequent victories 
of Agesilaus, revealed the weakness of this monarchy: but the union of 
the Athenian and Persian fleets under Conon, and the defeat of the 
Spartans near C nidus, had neutralized those events, when the peace of 
Antalcidas again restored to Persia its supremacy over Asia, and inflicted 
on Sparta a deep disgrace. Artaxerxes II. failed in recovering Egypt 
(374), so little could his barbarian hosts achieve without Grecian troops 
and generals. The court was under the control of women ; each 
satrap was at war with his neighbour; and disputes about the succes- 
sion had nearly produced the downfal of the empire thirty years before 
the battle of Arbela. Ochus mounted the throne and assumed the name 
of his father, 358 b. c. ; and though insurrections in Asia Minor and 
extensive rebellions in Phoenicia, Egypt, and Cyprus, disturbed his 
reign, he nevertheless, with the help of Greek mercenaries, reduced 
Egypt once more to a Persian province (350). Returning to his own 
capital, he resigned himself to luxury, as if desirous to allay the pang? 
of conscience ; for he had scarcely assumed the regal tiara before he 
massacred one hundred and fifty of his relations, besides a great number 
of the nobility. He was himself poisoned by his favourite, Bagoas, 
who promoted the king's youngest son to the throne, 338, but soon afte' 
murdering him with all his family, he set up in his place the unfortunate 
Darius III. Codomannus, by whom the invasion of Alexander was ably 
opposed. After several bloody battles, the last of which was fought on 
the well-known field of Arbela (331 b. c), the destiny of the empire 
was sealed, and Darius, whose virtues entitled him to a better fate, 
shortly afterwards perished by assassination. 



THIRD CENTURY B. C. 95 



THIRD CENTURY. 

Rome.— 280, Pyrrhus.— 264, First Punic War.— 256, Regulus in Africa.— 

218, Second Punic War.— 216, Cannae.— 202, Zama. 
Greece. — 280, Achaean League. — 279, Gallic Invasion. — 226, Cleomenes. — 

206, Philopcemen. 
Macedon. — 294, Demetrius Poliorcetes. — 286, Lysimachus. — 221, Philip V. 
Egypt. — 283, Ptolemy Philadelphus. — 270, Septuagint Translation of the He- 

brew Scriptures. — 256, Parthia — Arsaces. 
Inventions, &c. — 269, First silver money coined at Rome. — 264, The Parian 

Chronicle. — 263, Parchment. — 250, Clepsydra. — 220, Burning-glasses. 
Literature, &c. — Euclid, Archimedes, Theocritus, Manetho — Plautus, d. 183. 

ROME. 

Pyrrhus, 280-275 b. c. — After subjugating- the Latins and Samnites, 
the Romans turned their arms against the Tarentines, who, unable to 
defend themselves, applied to the King of Epirus for assistance. Taren- 
tum was a Lacedaemonian colony of the eighth century b. c, established 
at the same period with many other towns in the southern parts of the 
Italian peninsula, hence called Magna Graecia. These cities, which 
had made rapid advances in wealth and power, had also attained some 
eminence in science, literature, and philosophy. Crotona was immor- 
talized by the presence and instructions of Pythagoras, to whom the 
real system of the universe was not unknown ; while Herodotus and 
Lysias were among the founders of Thurium. The Eleatic school of 
philosophy, the parent of so much genius and virtue, was first formed 
in Magna Graecia, where history and poetry were cultivated with an 
ardour worthy of their birth. The celebrated laws of Zaleucus of Locris 
continued in force two centuries ; but the progress of the Tarentines in 
luxury, which led to their ruin, was not less rapid than their advances 
in literature and refinement. Involved in a contest with the Romans, 
they demanded the aid of the military talents of Pyrrhus. He came to 
their assistance with 30,000 men, and success at first crowned his efforts 
on the fields of Heraclea and Asculum, but after six years he was com- 
pelled to yield to the ascendency of Rome. Leaving the Tarentines to 
their own resources, he returned to his native country, where he perished 
by an unworthy death, 272. The fall of their capital in the following 
year decided the fate of Southern Italy. 

Punic Wars, 264 b. c. — Seven years after the reduction of Magna 
Graecia, the First Punic War broke out, and Sicily became the theatre 
of the earliest struggle between Rome and Carthage. Syracuse, the 
capital of the island, was of Corinthian origin, — the most celebrated of 
all the cities that were founded by the Greeks. It had reached the 
height of political and literary renown about a century previous to the 
breaking out of the Punic Wars. The single name of Archimedes 
would have immortalized it. Epicharmus was the model of Plautus, 
and Theocritus, the first of pastoral poets, has been closely imitated by 
Virgil. So great, indeed, was the estimation in which learning was 
held, that even the tyrant Dionysius was its patron, and a competitor 
tor its envied honours. The First Punic War was bep-un in defence of 



96 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

an act of flagrant injustice, and to protect a band of murderous savages 
The Mamertines, a mercenary body of Italian soldiers, after serving :n 
the armies of Agathocles, had taken forcible possession of the city of 
Messana, and put all the inhabitants to the sword, '280. The Syracusans 
and the Carthaginians united to punish them, upon which the terrified 
criminals applied to the Romans for support. The pretext for war was 
eagerly seized on, as, independently of the hatred existing between the 
rival republics, it was necessary to remove a powerful enemy from the 
neighbourhood of Southern Italy, which had been so recently conquered. 

Preliminary Observations. 

The defeat of Pyrrhus and the subjugation of Magna Graecia, with the 
definitive submission of Samnium and Etruria, had reduced beneath the Roman 
sway all Italy from the Arno to the Straits of Messina. The Roman name 
began to attract attention and to be treated with respect ; the constitution was 
in its utmost vigour ; and a chain of military colonies, the nurseries of hardy 
and experienced soldiers, held the conquered nations in awe from north to south. 
Such was the state of Rome : nor was that of Carthage in any respect inferior 
at the breaking out of these celebrated wars — called Punic, from the Pceni, or 
Phoenicians, from whom the Carthaginians were descended. They are three 
in number : — 

First, 264-241 b. c, by which the Carthaginians were compelled to evacuate 
Sicily and the Italian Isles. They suffered still more by the total exhaustion 
of their finances, and a civil commotion of three years and a half (240-237), 
terminated only by the heroism of Hamilcar, who sought the aid of the demo- 
cracy against the power of the senate. 

Second, 218-202 b. c. Signalised by the rivalry of Hannibal and Scipio. The 
Romans conquered Spain, and Carthage was deprived of all her possessions 
out of Africa. 

Third, 149-146 b. c. Scipio iEmilianus, surnamed Africanus II., took and 
destroyed Carthage. 

First Punic War, 264-241 b. c. — The great obstacle to carrying 
on this war was the want of a fleet, which the ingenuity of the Romans 
soon supplied ; and, strange to relate, in the first naval battle, the consul 
Duillius defeated a nation long the mistress of the seas, 260. Scipio 
expelled the Carthaginians from Corsica, while Regulus transferred the 
seat of war from Sicily to Africa, where he was defeated, and taken 
prisoner by the superior skill of Xantippus, a Lacedaemonian general. 
The torments inflicted on the captive are said to be imaginary, and were 
invented solely to extenuate the Roman cruelty towards their prisoners, 
and to make it appear an act of retaliation. After various successes, in 
one of which off Drepanum (Trapani) the Romans lost ninety galleys, 
and 28,000 men killed or made prisoners, the Carthaginians met with a 
signal defeat on the western coast of Sicily, which terminated the war, 
241. The conditions of peace were the surrender of that island and the 
payment of 2200 talents. 

The temple of Janus was now shut for the first time since the reign 
of Numa, 235 b. c. 

Second Punic War, 218-202 B.C. — The issue of the preceding war, 
while it exalted the Roman state and extended its influence abroad, 
increased also the power of the senate. Little breathing time was 
allowed to this warlike people. Their powerful navy was next employed 
in destroying the Illyrian pirates under a queen called Teuta ; and thus, 
while their maritime superiority was preserved, their first political rela- 
tions with Greece were formed. A dreadful war of six years next 



THIRD CENTURY B.C. 97 

ensued with the Transalpine Gauls, to oppose whom was leried an 
army said to amount to the almost incredible number of 700,000 infantry 
and 70,000 cavalry. The invaders had entered Etruria and cut to pieces 
50,000 men near Clusium, when the victory near Telamo (225) saved 
Rome. Northern Italy was soon after compelled to submit, and the 
conquest of Istria and Illyria, in 219, opened the way to Greece. 

This war had scarcely ceased when the Romans were called upon to 
defend their country against one of the most remarkable generals of 
ancient times. Hannibal was the sworn enemy of Rome, even from his 
youth. He succeeded in the command of the army in Spain, to his 
father, the great Hamilcar, and to Hasdrubal, Hamilcar's son-in-law. 
At the age of twenty-six, he captured the city of Saguntum in alliance 
with the Romans, and in a short time completed the conquest of the 
Peninsula. A second war between the two nations now broke out, in 
which Hannibal, adopting the policy of the enemy, carried the war into 
the heart of their country. By a rapid march he crossed the Pyrenees, 
the Rhone, and the Alps,* and with little more than 30,000 men, defeated 
the consul Scipio at the Ticinus. Again at the Trebia he vanquished 
Sempronius ; at the lake Trasimenus he routed Flaminius ; and so 
eagerly were the combatants engaged that a great earthquake, which 
overthrew many cities in Italy, was by them quite unperceived. At the 
great battle of C annas, 216, he was again victorious, and left 70,000 of 
the enemy dead on the field. This triumph threw all the south of Italy 
into his hands; but Rome was too powerful to be overthrown even by 
such a terrible reverse. While the Carthaginian army was wintering 
in the luxurious Capua, the senate was occupied in raising new troops, 
conciliating allies, and carrying on a successful war in Sicily, Spain, 
Sardinia, and Greece. Marcellus inflicted two severe checks upon Han- 
nibal near Nola, and the latter, shortly after, while menacing Rome, 
lost Capua and Tarentum, 209. His brother Hasdrubal, marching to his 
assistance with 60,000 men, was worsted and slain near the Metaurus ; 
and after keeping possession of Italy fifteen years, during which neither 
money nor assistance reached him from home, he was recalled to oppose 
the armies of Scipio. The fate of Carthage w T as sealed at Zama, where 
Hannibal was defeated. Rigorous terms of peace were imposed on the 
vanquished city : all her foreign possessions were to be given up, — her 
munitions and ships of war to be surrendered, — a tribute of 10,000 
talents to be paid in fifty years, and she was bound to engage in no war 
without the consent of Rome, 202 b. c. 

Hannibal, on his return, was placed as supreme magistrate at the 
head of the republic ; and so great were the reforms he introduced into 
the finances, that ten years had scarcely elapsed before Carthage was 
enabled to furnish at once the whole of the tribute which she had 
engaged to pay by instalments. The Barcine faction to which he be- 
longed was dominant; that of Hanno was powerless. Already he 
meditated a vast confederacy of the world against Rome, when he was 
demanded by her ambassadors. Compelled to flee from his native 

* Hannibal's march across the Alps has called forth nearly a hundred different accounts. 
The most probable routes are those of the Little St. Bernard, Mount Genevre, or Mount 
Cenis. The dissertation of Messrs. Cramer and Wickham appear to prove that the first 
must claim the honour of Hannibal's passage. The reader will smile at the account of 
the softening the rocks by the joint action of fire and vinegar, or esteem it an extra 
vagant metaphor, expressive of the ardour and impetuosity of the invading army. 
9 



98 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

country, he took refuge with Antiochus of Syria; he afterwards retired 
to Crete, and then to Bithynia, where, finding that Prusias the king was 
about to betray him to his enemies, he took poison, of which he died, 
183 b. c, in the 65th year of his age. About the same period Scipio, his 
great rival, expired in retirement at Linternum. 

The conquest of Magna Grascia, and the intercourse with Sicily, brought 
Rome into contact with the philosophy and literature of Greece at a period 
when they had reached their highest perfection. A rapid and almost unparal- 
leled improvement was the consequence. An immediate change took place in 
the language ; its barbarisms suddenly disappeared, and Latin became a com- 
paratively polished tongue. The power of Rome was also greatly increased by 
the result of the Punic War. Her dominion extended over foreign countries, 
and the destruction of the Carthaginian navy left her without a rival on the sea. 
She had now become also a great military republic, and began henceforward 
i© aspire to universal dominion, — an object rendered easier by the degeneracy 
of the people in foreign states. 

State of Europe and Asia at the end of the First runic War. 

The Roman dominion and influence prevailed from the north to the south 
ofltaly, in Sicily. Corsica, Sardinia, and on all the northern coast of Africa, 
and began to be felt also in Greece and in the East. At this epoch there were 
only three powers capable of making a vigorous resistance against the con- 
querors of Carthage. These were — 

1. Greece, in which these various nations still formed a strong barrier: The 
fierce JEtolians. the members of the Achcean League, and the Bwotians. 

2. Macedonia, defended by its lofty mountains, and formidable on account 
of its courageous and active population. 

3. Syria, the most powerful of the kingdoms which rose upon the ruins of 
Alexander's empire ; but the kings posterior to Seleucus passed an effeminate 
life; the example spread from the court to the army, and even the Romans 
were tainted by it during their war with Antiochus. 

Prepare : Map of the Roman dominions. 
Trace : Rout of Hannibal and his campaigns from the siege of Saguntum 
till he quitted Italy. 

GREECE AND MACEDON. 

The extensive ani rapid victories of Alexander terminated in the 
murder of all his family, and the usurpation of his throne. The battle 
of Ipsus in Phrygia decided the fate of the various competitors. Mace- 
don fell to the share of Cassander, but he enjoyed his sovereignty only 
three years ; and he was shortly after followed to the tomb by Philip, 
his successor. The two remaining sons disputed the throne, when 
Antipater murdered his own mother Thessalonice, for the partiality she 
manifested towards his younger brother. Each now applied to foreign- 
ers for help : Antipater to his father-in-father law Lysimachus of 
Thrace, and Alexander to Demetrius Poliorcetes, by whom he was 
shortly afterwards put to death. The army proclaimed Demetrius king, 
and in his person the house of Antigonus ascended the throne of Mace- 
donia. His seven years' government was a constant series of wars ; 
and being dethroned by Pyrrhus, he died a prisoner in the hands of his 
son-in-law Seleucus, 283 b. c. Lysimachus of Thrace expelled the 
ruler of Epirus after a brief reign of one year ; but he was soon involved 
in a war with Seleucus Nicator in which he lost his life, 281. The 
monarch of Asia now assumed the title of king of Macedonia; but 
shortly after he had crossed over to his new dominions, he fell ry the 



THIRD CENTURY B. C. 90 

I 

liand of Ceraunus, brother of the Egyptian sovereign. The assassin 
aad scarcely secured the throne before he lost his life in battle against 
the invading Gauls, 279. Antigonus Gonatas, son of Poliorcetes, who 
now assumed the vacant throne, was deposed by Pyrrhus ; but after his 
death, he recovered his dominions, which he and his family possessed 
until the Roman conquest. He died in his eightieth year, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Demetrius II., 243. Philip V. ascended the throne 
after the usurpation of Doson, 221. At the early age of sixteen he 
displayed many of the qualities that form a great prince ; he participated 
in the war between the iEtolian and Achaean leagues ; and ratified a 
treaty with Hannibal against the Romans. Many things concurred to 
prevent both parties from acting upon this agreement, and finally a 
general peace was concluded in 204. 

During this century the Gauls or Celts, who had established them- 
selves in Pannonia 300 years before, threatened Greece with invasion. 
Two expeditions were unsuccessful, but the third, under Brennus II., 
overran Macedonia, and penetrated as far as Delphi, where a dreadful 
storm having thrown their army into confusion, they were attacked and 
routed by the Greeks. Another party, continuing their march towards 
the East, supported the claims of Nicomedes to the throne of Bithynia, 
and settled in the province called from them Galatia, or Gallo-Graecia. 

Athens, on the death of Alexander, made some vain endeavours to 
recover her liberty, which ended in the imposition of a more grievous 
yoke. To regain their freedom the cities of Achaea revived the ancient 
confederacy, named the 

Achaean League, — a union of several small republics in Achaia, 
bound together on the footing of perfect equality. Their constitution 
was so renowned as to be adopted by several other Grecian cities. This 
coalition was dissolved in the commotions subsequent to the death of 
Alexander. In 280, it was partially revived, but did not become formi- 
dable till the accession of foreign states (243-229). Many great names 
appear in connexion with it ; such as the virtuous Aratus, Philopoemen, 
and Lycortas. The Romans endeavoured to excite quarrels between 
the different members, with the view of checking their rising power; yet 
Philopoemen, the last of the Greeks, maintained their dignity, at the very 
time when the Romans presumed to speak as arbitrators. He was 
taken prisoner by the Messenians, and poisoned at the age of seventy ; 
and the venal Callicrates who could hear unmoved " the very boys in 
the streets taunt him with treachery," became his successor. The 
conquest of Macedonia led to the destruction of the Achaean League. 
Above 1000 of the most eminent members were summoned to Rome, 
167, and kept in prison seventeen years without a hearing; and when at 
length they were allowed to return home, they excited a war against 
the common enemy. Their heroic efforts proved vain against dishonesty 
within and the powerful arms of Rome without. With the taking of 
Corinth vanished the last hopes of Grecian independence, and under 
the title of Achaia the country lost even its name, 146 b. c. 

EGYPT. 

The Ptolemies. — Ptolemy L, 323 b.c, the son of Lagus and sup- 
posed brother of Alexander, was governor of Egypt, which title he 

Lofa 



100 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

changed for that of king after the battle of Ipsus, 301. He wished to 
form a state on the model of Greece, and with that design beautified 
Alexandria, and laid the foundations of its celebrated library. His 
empire increased eve^ry day in wealth, learning, and civilisation. It is 
said of him that he never went to war without necessity, and that he 
was always successful. He was named Soter (Deliverer) by the Rho- 
dians, whom he had protected against the attacks of Demetrius Polior- 
cetes, 304. His son, the second of the name, who had ascended the 
throne in 286 as joint-king, became sole monarch two years after. It 
was in irony that he was styled Philadelphus, having put one brother to 
death and banished another. In the patronage he bestowed upon learn- 
ing, he excelled even his father : at his court were entertained the 
astronomer-poet Aratus; the grammarians Aristophanes and Aristarchus ; 
Theocritus, and Lycophron the celebrated commentator; the historian 
Manetho ; the mathematicians Conon, Euclid, and Hipparchus ; Calli- 
machus and Zenodotus, the latter famous for his notes on Homer. By 
his order the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was pre- 
pared ; the lighthouse of the Pharos erected ; and the canal between the 
Nile and the Red Sea cleared out. Ptolemy III., 246, trod in the steps 
of his father and grandfather ; his grateful subjects styled him Euergetes 
(the Benefactor). Before his death in 221, his government extended to 
Cyrene, as well as over Ccele-Syria, Phoenicia, Lycia, Caria, and 
Cyprus in the north. Egypt was singularly fortunate in having three 
great kings in succession. The change which ensued was produced in 
the natural course of events, for it was impossible that a prosperous court 
should remain untainted by luxury. Ptolemy IV. Philopator, a de- 
bauched and cruel monarch, was ruled by crafty favourites, who like- 
wise endeavoured to maintain their power during the early part of the 
reign of the youthful Ptolemy V. sumamed Epiphanes ; but the nation, 
to avoid the dangers impending from the attacks of the Macedonian and 
Syrian monarchs, intrusted the regency to the senate of Rome, 202. 

The internal government of Egypt appears latterly to have been in most 
respects similar to that of ancient times. The division into nomes continued ; 
the regal power was limited ; the priestly caste with their ancient forms of 
religion still existed. Under Ptolemy II. Egypt was inferior to Rome alone. 
Theocritus, probably with the exaggeration of a poet, speaks of its 33,000 
cities ; at all events, it was the greatest mercantile nation then existing. By 
its caravans and its fleet of merchant-ships, it collected in its warehouses the 
silks and spices of India, the purple of Phcenicia, the precious metals of Spain 
and Thrace, and the ivory of Ethiopia. The revenue, without including the 
corn-tax, which was paid in kind, amounted to 14,800 silver talents (aboijt four 
millions sterling). 

Consult : Sharpe's Egypt under the Ptolemies. 

PARTHIA 

Lies between Media and Aria, southward from Hyrcania. The 
tyranny of the Syrian viceroy, Agathocles, drove the inhabitants into 
rebellion. Arsaces, by his military talents, raised himself to power, 
and with him begins the numerous family of the Arsacidae, 256 b. c. 
The Euphrates, the Indus, and the Caspian Sea soon became the boun-. 
daries of the kingdom, remarkable in history for little more than its 
obstinate wars against the Romans, in one of which Crassus was 
defeated and killed, 53 b. c. His death was avenged some years after- 



SECOND CENTURY B.C. 101 

wards by the consul Ventidius; hut Julian the Apostate, despising the 
lessons of experience, invaded the country and perished with a numerous 
army. The regal power was extinguished by the Sassanides, a. d. 226. 
This empire was divided into satrapies, and contained several small 
tributary kingdoms, with some Grseco-Macedonian settlements. The 
constitution was monarchical and aristocratic. The supremacy of the 
Parthians, a people jealous of all strangers, interrupted the commerce 
between the East and West, until a new route was opened by Palmyra 
and Alexandria. 



SECOND CENTURY. 



Rome. — 197, Battle of Cynoscephalae. — 190, Defeat of Antiochus the Great. 

—168, Battle of Pydna.— 146, Corinth and Carthage burnt.— 133, Fall of 

Numantia.— 133 and 121, Gracchi.— Ill, Jugurthine War.— 102, Cimbric 

War. 
Jud^ka. — 166, Judas Maccabaeus. — 130, Independent. — 106, Aristobulus. 
Inventions, &c. — 190, Pumps by Hero of Alexandria. — 142, Precession of 

Equinoxes, Latitude and Longitude, Spherical Trigonometry, by Hipparchus. 
Literature. — Polybius, Aristarchus, Bion and Moschus, Ennius, Terence. 

ROME. 

Macedon reduced. — The fortunate conclusion of the Second Punic 
War had inspired the Romans with a desire of subjugating the world. 
Hostilities were declared against Philip in spite of the opposition of the 
tribunes, and the artful Quintius Flamininus was sent against him. 
Much political ingenuity was displayed by these two commanders, but 
at length Quintius succeeded in gaining over the Achaean League, 
assisted by whose cavalry he utterly routed his antagonist at the battle 
of Cynoscephalae, 197 b. c. The treaty which followed, besides con- 
fining the king to the boundaries of Macedon, imposed a tribute of 1000 
talents, and stipulated for the surrender of his fleet, as well as for the 
reduction of his army to 500 men. Roman commissioners now filled 
the country ; but the troops were not withdrawn from the states which 
had been declared free at the national festival of the Isthmian games. 

Syrian War. — Antiochus III. of Syria was the only remaining enemy 
in any degree formidable to the Romans. His dominions extended from 
the east of Persia to Asia Minor, and he was meditating the conquest 
of Egypt, when the Roman intervention was solicited in favour of 
Ptolemy V. Some time after, Antiochus undertook to reduce Caria and 
Lydia, and had crossed the Hellespont to seize on the Thracian Cher- 
sonese. At this time Hannibal, who had fled to him for refuge, offered, 
at the head of 10,000 men, to transfer the war to Italy. Had this pro- 
posal been adopted, the result of the contest might have been different. 
To avert the impending danger, Rome gained over to her interest 
Eumenes of Pergamus, whose fears had been excited by the power of 
Antiochus. The vanity of the Greeks was flattered more than ever; 
Philip of Macedon was easily w T on over; and the fidelity of the Boeo- 
tians and Achaeans was assured. The importance attached to this war 
9* 



102 ANCIENT HISTORY* 

was such, that the consul Cornelius forbade the senators to be absent 
from Rome more than one day at a time. 

Antiochus commanded his army in person. He had been led to expect 
that all Greece would rise at his approach, but he was joined by only 
two or three of the smaller tribes. At Thermopylae, Cato, by a bold 
movement, gained the passage defended by the Syrian army, which was 
utterly routed, Antiochus himself scarcely halting until he reached the 
Asiatic continent, 191. His rear was closely pressed by the Roman 
legions, under the command of L. Scipio, whose brother, Africanus, was 
then serving as his lieutenant. The defeat at Magnesia in 190, for ever 
broke the power of the Syrian empire, and the conditions of peace 
included the evacuation of Asia Minor, the surrender of Hannibal, and 
the payment of 15,000 talents. The king perished in attempting to 
plunder the temple of Elymais in Persia, 187 b. c. 

Syria remained a separate kingdom many years, and the throne was 
frequently an object of violent contention, until Pompey having defeated 
Mithridates and Tigranes, subdued Antiochus XL, and reduced the coun- 
try to a Roman province, 65 b. c. 

Perseus. — Fresh disputes arose with Macedon, but war did not break 
out until 172. The two sons of Philip were Demetrius and Perseus, 
the former of whom had been sent as a hostage to Rome. The policy 
of the senate succeeded in attaching this youth to the Roman interest, 
with the view of causing a disunion between the brothers. Hence 
Demetrius had hardly returned to Macedon before he was accused of 
endeavouring to assassinate Perseus. Philip, who had allowed him- 
self to be prejudiced against his son, ordered him to be put to death, 
and died himself some time after under the tortures of a guilty con- 
science. To ascend the throne by the murder of a prince befriended by 
Rome, was almost equivalent to a declaration of war against the repub- 
lic. But all the efforts of Roman policy were required to prevent the 
formation of a powerful confederacy in the East. A deceitful truce was 
resorted to for gaining time ; and at first the war was favourable to 
Perseus. At length, wearied by the slow progress of hostilities, and 
contrary to their usual custom, the republicans sent an old general, 
Paulus TEmilius, against him. The bloody and decisive battle near 
Pydna, 168 b. c, showed how easily a kingdom may be overturned 
which has only an army for its support. Perseus, after being led in 
triumph, was starved in prison : Macedonia was now divided into four 
governments; and the inhabitants were forbidden to marry, or to pur- 
chase property out of their district, under pain of death. Their gold- 
mines were no longer to be w r orked, all commerce with foreigners was 
prohibited, and as if to insult the unfortunate, they were declared free. 
An adventurer, Andriscus, pretending to be the son of Perseus, placed 
himself at the head of the disaffected ; but he was overcome by Metel- 
lus, and the native country of Alexander submitted finally to the arms 
of Rome, 146 b. c. 

Conquest of Greece. — The Greeks perceived when too late the error 
they had committed in demanding Roman aid against Macedon. The 
members of the Achaean league still made head against the ambitious 
barbarians, but their utmost efforts and heroism proved vain. At Ther- 
mopylae, and again at I lie Isthmus, the fortune of Italy prevailed. 
Corinth was taken by Mummius, who, after countenancing the most 



SECOND CENTURY B.C. 103 

revolting cruelties, burnt the city to the ground, 146. Greece now also 
became a tributary province under the name of Achaia. 

Third Punic War. — This war originated in domestic faction. Cato, 
envious of the great influence possessed by Scipio Nasica in the senate, 
was offended by the coldness with which he had been received as 
ambassador at Carthage ; and the disputes with Masinissa were made 
the pretext for hostilities, 149. The Romans, after claiming all their 
ships of Avar, ordered the Carthaginians to quit their city, and build 
another in the interior. So imperious a command was not obeyed ; 
despair furnished them with arms ; the women cut off their hair to 
weave cordage for the ships, and gave their ornaments as a contribution 
towards the defence of their country. During three years the devoted 
city held out; but at length the younger Scipio ./Emilianus obtained a 
footing within its walls. For six days more the inhabitants maintained 
an obstinate resistance, — every inch of ground was defended with 
desperation ; and in the end, setting fire to the town, they perished in 
the ruins. Seventeen days the conflagration continued, and the con- 
queror, it is said, wept at the dreadful sight. Thus perished the mis- 
tress of the sea, the most formidable rival of Rome, 146 b. c. The 
city was more than twenty miles in circumference, contained 700,000 
inhabitants, and its wealth may be estimated by the plunder collected 
by Scipio, amounting to £1,500,000.* 

Spanish War. — In Spain, also, the Roman arms had proved victo- 
rious. This region was originally possessed by Celts and Iberians, a 
brave and independent race, whose descendants still survive on the 
shores of Biscay. The rich mines of gold and silver excited the cupidity 
of the Romans, but so courageously was the country defended, that 
seventy years elapsed ere its conquest was effected. Carthage had 
never possessed more than the coast and Bastica ; the interior and the 
west were protected by the mountains so favourable to that species of 
warfare in which the Spaniards excel. The contest began with the 
revolt of the Seditani, 200 b. c. They were soon crushed ; and after 
three years' tranquillity the senate was alarmed by the news of a general 
insurrection, and the defeat of the praetor Sempronius. Cato cruelly 
retaliated by destroying 400 towns in one day; but Paulus iEmilius, 
afterwards so famous in Macedon, lost 6000 men, whose fate he 
revenged by the slaughter of 20,000 Spaniards in the following year. 
Successive battles under different generals took place, until Sempronius 
Gracchus, who was four times victorious, concluded a favourable treaty, 
179. Other successes gained by Posthumius compelled the Lusitanians 
to lay down their arms. After a long peace, only interrupted by two 
revolts which were easily quelled, the Celtiberians, now weary of inac- 
tion, defeated Calpurnius Piso, routed A. Fulvius Nobilior, with the 
loss of 6000 men, and destroyed his army at Numantia, 153. Mum- 
mius, and the consul Marcellus, were scarcely more fortunate. 
Alarmed by such repeated misfortunes, the Romans regarded Spain as 
the tomb of their legions. The victories were dearly purchased ; men 
refused to be enrolled for this interminable war ; and the province would 
have been lost but for the courage of Scipio iEmilianus, son of Paulus 

* It lias been conjectured that the city of Timbuctoo may have been founded by Car 
thaginians who escaped from the conflagration of their city. 



104 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

/Emilius, and adopted grandchild of Scipio Africanus. Lucullus ano 
Galba were unsuccessful in all but their plans to enrich themselves 
the latter, by an atrocious massacre of 30,000 unarmed men, made the 
name of his country an object of execration throughout the Peninsula. 
A shepherd, named Viriathus, who had escaped from this slaughter, 
put himself at the head of a small body of partisans. The fame of his 
exploits having brought together a numerous army, he defeated the 
pnetor sent against him, 149 b. c. Four generals were successively 
foiled by this skilful leader ; but the temporizing tactics of the consul 
Fabius iEmilianus proved a match for him. Metellus Macedonicus 
restored the reputation of the Roman arms in Celtiberia; still in Lusi- 
tania, Viriathus defeated a new proconsul, and afterwards the consul 
himself near Ituca. The exhaustion of both parties led to a peace, 
most humiliating on the part of Rome, which was only a snare, as the 
consul Caepio took up arms as soon as he knew that the allies were 
separated and their troops disbanded. Viriathus still resisted, when the 
invader, unable to attain his ends by other means, corrupted two of the 
officers of that brave commander, who assassinated him in his tent, 141 
B.C. With his death ended the war in Lusitania, only to break out 
more fiercely in Celtiberia; it was no longer confined to the mountains, 
for Numantia became the second terror of the Romans. The consul 
Mancinus was beaten in every encounter, and obliged to retreat in dis- 
grace, after concluding an ignominious treaty, which the senate, ever 
unfaithful in such cases, refused to ratify. Scipio iEmilianus, who ten 
years before had destroyed Carthage, was nominated to conclude this 
war. He blockaded Numantia, and surrounded it with a double line 
of fortifications ; the one to repel the sallies from the town, the other to 
oppose any attempts that might be made to raise the siege. At last, 
reduced by famine and disease to a very small number, the inhabitants 
set fire to their houses and perished in the flames, 133 b. c, upon which 
the Romans took possession of a desolate and ruined city. — The reader 
will not fail to remark the extraordinary perseverance with which the 
Spaniards, both in ancient and modern history, have defended their 
besieged cities. It is unnecessary to mention more than three names, — 
Saguntum, Numantia, and Saragosa. In the army of Scipio were two 
men who soon after became very celebrated, Jugurtha, grandson of 
Masinissa, king of Numidia, who commanded a body of auxiliaries, 
and Marius who was destined to vanquish him. 

Conquest of Cisalpine Gaul. — The wars between the Gauls and 
Romans were at once sudden and destructive ; and the senate soon 
became convinced that they could not safely leave such intrepid enemies* 
in Upper Italy. These barbarians, discovering the error into which 
they had fallen in not seconding the designs of Hannibal, seized on a 
favourable moment for reviving the war. In the year 200 b. c, when 
the general attention was directed to the Macedonian contest, Rome 
was alarmed by the report of a Gallic tumult, for that was the name 
peculiarly applied to such invasions. Hamilcar was at the head of the 
united tribes, who took the town and colony of Placentia, which he 
burnt to the ground. Cremona was threatened with a similar fate, 
when the assailants were attacked by the consular army, and routed 
with the loss of 35,000 men, including their general. Seventy stand 
3~ds, 200 war-chariots, and all the booty that had been collected '«• 



SECOND CENTURY J}. C. 105 

..._.., ^: ...to the hands of the conquerors. The succeeding years, 
marked with the usual alternations of success and defeat, produced an 
excessive loss of life on both sides ; the Romans, however, gained 
ground, owing to the greater regularity with which they pursued their 
plans. In 194 B.C., a more vigorous effort was made, but the two 
consuls were obliged to return unsuccessful. The population of Northern 
Italy, meanwhile, w T as gradually decreasing, when a number of the 
more influential families who bore the Gallic name, submitted to the 
ponsuls ; one of whom, Q. Flamininus, desirous of pleasing a young 
friend who had accompanied him from Rome, smote to the ground and 
stabbed a noble Boian who had fled to him for safety. FJght years 
elapsed before he was punished for this crime, under the rigorous cen- 
sorship of Cato. 

Many generous efforts were still made by the Bcians, although dis- 
united ; but in 191 they were defeated by the consul Scipio Nasica, and 
lost 20,000 men. Proud of his success, he committed the most horrible 
ravages, and dared to boast, when claiming the honours of a triumph, 
that he had left none alive of the Boian race except the old men and 
children. Unable any longer to contend against a cruel enemy, and 
too proud to live dependent in their native country, they crossed the 
Norican Alps to seek a refuge on the banks of the Danube, in the year 
190 B.C. 

Conquest of Liguria. — The Gallic and Ligurian insurrections were 
the great military schools of the Roman legions. Livy observes that 
after the destruction of the Boians, the Ligurians appeared reserved by 
Providence to maintain the discipline of the soldiers during the intervals 
between the more regular wars. Their resistance lasted thirty years, 
beginning with the massacre of the praetor's escort in 189. For several 
seasons the two consuls were sent into Liguria, one of whom, M. Po- 
pilius Laenas, in 173, besieged Oarystum, which surrendered on favour- 
able conditions. These were not, however, respected ; the inhabitants 
were deprived of their arms, their city was destroyed, themselves sold 
as slaves, and their goods put up to auction. Even the senate was 
shocked at this atrocious conduct, and gave orders for the liberation of 
the people, and the restoration of their property. Popilius disobeyed 
the decree, and preserving his command as proconsul in the next year, 
provoked a universal rising of the Ligurian tribes. The indignation at 
Rome was at its height, and the tribunes of the people, with the con- 
currence of the senate, declared that if on the first cf August there re- 
mained one Statiellian r.nlibeiated, the authqr of the crime should be 
sought out and punished. The new consuls replaced Popilius, and he 
was saved from the menaced judgment by intrigue and influence; yet 
he had massacred 20,000 innocent persons ! The last struo-o-le, which 
soon afterwards began, continued nearly four years. Each summer two 
armies and two consuls were required, in the words of Florus, "to 
break that stone on which the Roman people had for so lono- a lime 
sharpened their swords," 163 b. c. 

Istria, which had been conquered in 221, recovered its liberty during 
the Secpnd Punic War, but it was again reduced under the yoke of 
Rome a few years before the subjugation of Liguria. One circumstance 
alone in the campaign deserves mention, for all these wars against the 
'ndenendent tribes of Gallic or German origin, are but a repetition of 



106 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

similar atrocities. iEpulo and the principal Istrian chiefs had been 
driven from place to place until they took refuge in the strong town of 
Nesactum. C. Claudius Pulcher immediately laid siege to it, and 
finding himself impeded in his operations by the river .Arsia, which 
supplied the besieged with water, succeeded in turning it into anew 
channel. The barbarians, struck with terror at the drying up of the 
stream, without demanding terms of surrender, killed their wives and 
children on the ramparts in sight of the enemy, and flung them over 
into the ditches. In the midst of this frightful slaughter the Roman 
soldiers scaled the walls and penetrated into the city. The king killed 
himself with his own sword to avoid falling alive into the hands of the 
enemy; the survivors surrendered or were slain. The possession of 
Istria secured the dominion over the Adriatic ; while the conquest of 
Sardinia and Corsica gave the Romans two important posts in the 
Mediterranean. The former island was reduced by Sempronius, the 
father of the Gracchi ; and so great a number of captives was brought 
to Rome that Sardi venules (Sardinians for sale) became a proverb to 
designate any considerable quantity of articles for which it was difficult 
to find purchasers. 

Internal Condition of Rome. 

With the termination of those great wars, which may be said to have com- 
promised the safety of Rome, began the internal dissensions which had been 
suspended in the presence of a foreign enemy ; and that city, now become the 
mistress of the world, was doomed to be torn asunder by the strife of rival 
factions. 

After the fall of Carthage, the people, noble and plebeian, enriched by the 
spoil of empires, were desirous in their turn to taste the luxuries of the East ; 
and hence an unrestrained voluptuousness suddenly appeared in the city, bring- 
ing with it the most frightful depravity. In many of the nobler minds this 
seduction commenced with the externals of Greek civilisation. Scipio Africa- 
nus, in particular, affected the Athenian manners, and thus excited the indigna- 
tion of his qujestor Cato. Flamininus, Metellus. itimilius, Fabius, and other 
patricians, followed the example of Scipio ; and to defend themselves against 
the assertors of the ancient manners, they united by adoptions and intermar- 
riages, and thus began that faction which so long controlled the senate itself, 
and endeavoured to take away many of the popular privileges. Their pride 
and strength may be gathered from the defence made by Fabius in behalf of 
his son-in-law, who had been declared guilty of treason : — He is not guilty, for 
he married my daughter. Cato alone dared to resist, and attacked their chief, 
having instigated the tribunes to summon him to render an account of the 
various sums of money he had received. The result of this struggle is unknown ; 
but it appears certain that xA.fricanus, after momentarily triumphing over the 
tribunitial power, was compelled to retire to Linternum, where he died. 

In 195 the Roman matrons-, displeased with the severity of the Oppian law,* 
succeeded in procuring its abrogation in despite of the exertions of Cato. Ten 
years after, it became evident that the intercourse with Greece and the East 
had introduced into Home many dangerous innovations. Numerous crimes, 
the work of unknown hands, had excited terror throughout the city, when the 
senate discovered that an obscure superstition, the orgies of Bacchus, had been 
mysteriously communicated, and that this worship, whose rites were prostitu- 
tion and the murder of those who refused to submit to infamy, already counted 
numerous partisans. The greatest precautions were taken to convict the 
criminals, and many women, who had been initiated into these disgraceftr 
mysteries, were secretly put to death in their own houses. 

* By the Oppian law women were forbidden to wear more than half an ounce of golo 
to have party-coloured garments, or to be carried about in any city or town, except ii« 
the case of certain festivals. 



SECOND CENTURY B.C. 107 

The last effort against the increasing depravity and corruption was the 
nomination of Cato to the censorship. While in this office he expelled several 
members of the senate, and among others the Q. Flamininus mentioned above. 
He established many sumptuary regulations ; taxed private carriages, and 
numerous articles of dress ; cut off all the private conduits which were fed by 
the public fountains; demolished the buildings which encroached on the public 
way ; and by his financial changes greatly increased the revenues of the state. 

Luxury at home could only be supported by injustice abroad, and accordingly 
we find the provinces on all sides appealing to the senate against the exactions 
of their governors. The Sicilian deputies said they would rather be swallowed 
up in Etna than have Marcellus a second time to rule over them. Spain, from 
its containing silver mines, was made a scene of plunder by its numerous prae- 
tors. Greece met with no better fate ; both its temples and private houses 
being pillaged. When Anicius pacified Epirus and Illyria, 150,000 of the 
natives were sold into slavery, and all their cities dismantled. 

A thirst of distinction appeared among the great, who disdained to be con- 
founded in the crowd of their fellow-nobles. Victorious generals, assuming the 
names of the countries they had subdued, were called Africanus, Asiaticus, 
Macedonicus, and such like. Public offices were now become so lucrative, 
that the higher ranks sought them with avidity. The villian law, which fixed 
the age at which these could be filled ; a law passed in 18] against the corrupt 
practices preceding an election ; the consular law of 159 against bribery, — were 
nugatory. The Sabinian law of 139 provided for the purity of election. Four 
new tribunals, under the name of Qucestiones Perpetuce, were established to 
inquire into all cases of extortion, bribery, or peculation ; but the judges parti- 
cipated in the disorders which it was their duty to punish, and shamelessly sold 
their decisions. 

Before the various public offices were opened to the plebeians, there had 
been a continual and frequently a bloody struggle between the patricians and 
the popular leaders ; but the plebeian families, which became illustrious from 
the stations filled by their members, were at last confounded with the higher 
order, and formed with them an aristocracy so much the more dangerous as it 
comprehended many whose ancestors had long contended for popular privileges. 
The plebeians themselves were altered. Decimated by continual wars, the 
plebs, which now crowded the forum, was a confused medley of Italians and 
freedmen mingled with the ancient Romans, who had lost all traces of their 
former dignity by misery and association with those whose bodies were free, 
but whose minds yet retained the feelings of slaves. Such a populace was little 
respected or feared by the senate; still, so long as external enemies remained 
to be encountered, the people were relieved by the founding of numerous 
colonies. In 197, fifteen hundred families were settled in five towns of Cam- 
pania and Etruria ; three years later six new colonies were formed in Lucania 
and Bruttium; and thirteen others between 192 and 175. Gratuitous distribu- 
tions of corn were made at Rome, and all usury was forbidden by the tribunes. 

But the exertions of the senate were not the less directed to the depression of 
the plebeian influence in the government. In 176, the censors confined the 
populace to the four lowest tribes ; and eight years afterwards one of these four 
was made to contain all whose landed possessions were not of the value of 
30,000 sesterces, about .£240 sterling. By degrees the senators usurped the 
whole executive powers of the government : and the knights, whom they 
refused to consider as a new order, were their sole antagonists. The richest 
Romans formed this class, which was open to nobles and plebeians, provided 
they were possessed of the requisite pecuniary qualification. Placed between 
the senate and the people, the Equites or Knights meditated a separalion from 
both, and the formation of a distinct order in the state. When almost too late, 
the senate repented of their alienation from this powerful intermediate body. 

The disorders of the government were increased by the defective harvests of 
144 and 143, and by the absence of all colonization during more than thirty 
years, beginning with 168 e. c. The only resource left to the impoverished 
multitude was to enter the service of the patricians or of the wealthy knights ; 
but these classes preferred slave- labour, and besides, the example of Cato had 



108 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 



been extensively imiiated; arable land was generally changed into pasturage 
as being more profitable. The poor were now reduced to the alternative of 
death or of a revolution which might improve but certainly could not aggravate 
their condition. 

Servile War, 131-131. — The demands of the people were preceded 
by those of the bondmen. Slavery, that scourge of the East, had been 
extended over all Italy by the conquests of the Romans ; for those who 
had subdued Greece and Carthage disdained the cultivation of the soil. 
Everywhere slave-labour had replaced that of the freeman ; and the land 
was covered with an infinite number of those unfortunate wretches whom 
war had deprived of their liberty, or who had been kidnapped on the 
coasts of Thrace or Asia Minor. As has been ever the case, the 
severity and cruelty of the proprietors increased with the number of 
their victims. This led to a revolt, which broke out at Tauromenium, 
headed by the Syrian Eunus, a pretender to the gift of prophecy. Four 
praetors were successively defeated by these armed slaves, whose num- 
bers soon increased to 200,000. At last, a consul was sent against 
them, and the success of Rupilius, aided by his prudent measures, 
terminated a revolt, which, if it had spread to Italy, might have com- 
promised the safety of Rome. Had the slaves within the city acted in 
concert with those of Sicily, they easily would have crushed their 
masters, than whom they are said to have been ten times more 
numerous.* 

The Gracchi. — The revolt of the slaves menaced the existence of 
the state ; while the revolution attempted by the Gracchi, nearly 
depriving the nobles of the power they had usurped, transferred it to 
the hands of the people. The horrible scenes enacted in the battle-field 
were now to be repeated in the streets of Rome; and we see the just 
retaliation upon the citizens of all the cruelties they had inflicted on the 
conquered nations. A warlike people are usually cruel, blood-thirsty, 
and ignorant of the value of human life. Tiberius Gracchus, grandson 
of Africanus, distinguished himself in Africa and in Spain, but the 
senate having refused to sanction his treaty with the Numantines, he 
placed himself at the head of the populace, and was elected to the 
tribunate. The deserted condition of Italy, which he had witnessed in 
his way to Spain, is said to have excited him to put an end to a state 
of things which threatened to deprive his country of her free inhabi- 
tants, and replace them by slaves. His project, previously entertained 
by Laelius the friend of Scipio, was to resume the public lands, leaving 
to the rich, who had usurped them, 500 acres for themselves individual- 
ly, and 250 for each of their children ; besides which, a compensation 
was to be made for the portion they were to surrender, that it might be 

♦There is <jreat difficulty in calculating tlic amount of the slave population in the 
R.iman dominions. Mr. P.lair, in his valuable treatise on " Slavery amongst the Ro- 
mans," estimates that before the fall of Corinth, the proportion was one slave to every 
freeman, and from that period to Alexander Severus, as high as three to one. Many 
rich individuals counted their slaves by thousands. Scaurus possessed upwards ofgOOO ; 
those of Crassus formed the bulk of his property. Their value affords a curious insight 
into Roman manners. The cook of Apicius was sold for £772; a fool or jester for 
.flfil :0:'2 ; the slave actor, rendered famous by the pleading of Cicero, for £1614: II r8. 
He, as well as a good physician, a scribe, or a rhapsodist, was valuable for the emolu- 
ments he brought to his owner. Death was a frequent punishment ; on one occasion 
upwards of 400 were executed because the}' had not prevented the murder of their tnastt 
Whips, thongs of bull's hide, iron collars, and such instruments, supplied the more com 
mon punishments. 



SECOND CENTURY B.C. 109 

distributed in equal shares among the indigent citizens. Octavius the 
tribune put his veto upon this lenient measure of Gracchus, who imme- 
diately appealed to the people to procure the dismissal of the refractory 
magistrate. The agrarian laws were then carried, and proved, as might 
have been expected, not only a heavy blow to the senatorial party, but 
even fatal to the tranquillity of Rome. Tiberius was accused of aiming 
at the sovereignty, and was slain together with 300 of his partisans by 
Scipio Nasica and an armed body of the senators ; but although others 
of his adherents were banished, his party did not cease to be formidable, 
as it comprised nearly the whole of the people. The partition of the 
lands was no longer opposed ; and Scipio was compelled to leave the 
city, which he never again revisited. The conqueror of Carthage, sur- 
named iEmilianus, was chosen to carry the laws, into execution, but he 
soon became unpopular, 129 b. c. 

Caius Gracchus, untaught by his brother's fate, pursued the same 
course of agitation. Not contented with reviving the laws of Tiberius, 
he wished to extend the freedom of the state to the Italian allies, and 
thus place the government at the control of any faction that could meet 
in sufficient numbers to keep possession of the place of assembly. He 
also attempted to fix a maximum price on corn, and to neutralize the 
senate by the addition of 600 members. Nor were his exertions con- 
fined to legislative changes : he re-established several colonies, built 
public granaries, and constructed broad, solid, and commodious roads 
throughout all Italy. His authority in the senate was almost mon- 
archical ; for being admitted to their deliberations, he was often con- 
sulted. His absence at Carthage, w r here a new city was erecting, 
furnished his enemies with the means of destroying his power. Com- 
pelled to take arms in self-defence, he w T ith nearly 3000 followers perish- 
ed in the streets, 121 b. c, leaving as a successor C. Marius, formed by 
birth and education to be the head of the Roman populace. 

Reflections. — The revolution attempted by the Gracchi was not overcome, 
it was merely retarded ; and the violence with which the nobles opposed the 
measures of the reforming party was soon retaliated upon them. The consuls 
had stood aloof during the contest: the faction of the Great, as Sallust calls it, 
was superior even to the senate. The laws of the Gracchi were infringed ; the 
gratuitous distribution of corn from the public granaries was much limited; and 
soon the agrarian laws themselves were repealed. The privileges of the knights 
were attacked by this all-powerful body, which between the years 121 and 107 
B. c. proscribed all the new men, and allowed none to aspire to the consulate or 
the curule offices who did not belong to their ranks. Such violence provoked 
a reaction, and prepared the way for the cruelties of Marius, who had himself 
been a victim of the faction. He had been raised to the tribunate, by his 
patron Metellus, but finding himself unable to contend at the head of the 
people against the nobles, he sought elsewhere the credit and influence which 
he could not obtain at Rome. He was appointed the quaestor of Metellus in 
the Jugurthine War. 

Jugurthine War, 111 B.C. — Jugurtha the nephew of Masinissa, 
having seized the throne of Numidia and murdered his cousins, human- 
ity, not less than policy, compelled the Romans to assist their ancient 
ally, and the usurper w T as declared a public enemy. His first efforts 
were successful, more by the influence of gold than the force of arms ; 
but Metellus first drove him out of his kingdom, and Marius, who ter- 
10 



110 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

minated the war, led him in triumph to a prison, where he was starved 
to death, 106 b. c. 

Consult : Sallust's Jugurthine War. 

Cimbric War, 102 b. c. — Scarcely had Marius returned from Numidia, 
when he was called to save Rome from the greatest perils she had 
encountered since the time of Hannibal. The Cimbri and the Teutones, 
issuing from the boundless forests of the North, menaced both Gaul and 
Italy with invasion. The Romans marched to the protection of their 
province, which already extended along- the shores of the Gulf of Lyons 
from the Alps to the Pyrenees. Several consular armies were defeated, 
and ruin seemed impending over the capital when Marius was elected 
consul. This elevation, while it protected Rome from enemies without, 
served only to expose it to more imminent danger from within. His 
consulate was prolonged for three years, during which time he brought 
his army into the strictest discipline. Embracing a favourable oppor- 
tunity, he met the Teutones at Aquae. Sextias (Aix), and defeated them 
with terrible slaughter, 102. Hastily recrossing the Alps, he attacked 
the Cimbri at Vercellae, on the SeSsites (Sesia), where victory declared 
in his favour, and 140,000 of the enemy lay dead on the plain, 101 b. c. 

The honours which Marius received for this triumph prove how great 
was the consternation at Rome. He was surnamed the Third Romulus ; 
each citizen offered libations in his name ; and he himself compared his 
exploits to those of Bacchus in his Indian campaigns. The conqueror 
signalized his first government by a very remarkable innovation. Down 
to this period the proleiars, who constituted the lowest tribes, and were 
exempted on account of their poverty from all contributions to the state, 
had never been admitted into the Roman armies. Marius enrolled them ; 
and these men, whose only means of support had too frequently been 
confined to the charity of the rich, now enjoyed a regular pay, and 
formed part of the military force of the nation. Having no ties to their 
country, they soon neglected Rome in favour of the chief who supplied 
them with booty, and from this moment the armies ceased to belong to 
the republic. 

JUDjEA AND SYRIA. 

The Maccabees. — Judaea successively acknowledged the supremacy 
of Egypt and Syria; and the battle of Ipsus, 301, in which Antigonus 
fell, threw it into the hands of Ptolemy Lagus, during whose reign the 
high priest Simon beautified Jerusalem and surrounded it with walls. 
It suffered severely in the wars of Antiochus the Great with the Egyp- 
tian monarchs. The Syrian king, surnamed Epiphanes, restrained by 
the Romans from pursuing his conquests in Egypt, revenged himself on 
Judaea, took the capital, slew 40,000 of its inhabitants, and led an equal 
number into captivity, 170 b. c. In 168, he issued a decree of extermi- 
nation against the whole Jewish race, which was acted on by his will- 
ing minister Apollonius. The streets ran with blood, the city was 
plundered, and as the ceremonies of their religion were denounced, they 
could not be observed without danger. He next enjoined uniformity of 
worship, and the most dreadful penalties were inflicted upon those who 
did not profess the Grecian idolatry. Two mothers were thrown from 
the wall, with their infants at their necks, for having complied with the 
commands of the Mosaic Law ; but the firmness inspired by true religion 



SECOND CENTURY B.C. Ill 

was never more strongly exemplified than during these persecutions. 
Seven brothers were brought out, and condemned to witness and to suffer 
in their mother's presence such tortures as the heart of man could 
scarcely devise: their tongues were cut out, their limbs mangled, the 
scalps torn from their heads, before they were consigned to the boiling 
caldron or the lire. The aged father himself, for Eleazar had passed his 
90th year, went cheerfully to the torment, " to set an example to youth 
how to die for the honourable and holy laws." But when longer for- 
bearance would have been criminal, a race of heroes, the Maccabees,* 
arose, by whom the Syrians were driven from their country, 166. 

The enterprises of Judas Maccabseus were eminently successful : 
Apollonius, the governor of Samaria, was defeated and slain ; as was 
also Seron, satrap of Ccele-Syria. Antiochus hastily prepared to quell 
the insurrection, and a numerous army was accordingly marched into 
Judaea under the command of Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy Macron. 
Maccabaeus, unable to meet such an overwhelming force, kept his troops 
in the mountains, from which he continually harassed the enemy by 
desultory attacks. At last, seizing on a favourable opportunity, he 
utterly routed Nicanor, divided the rich spoils of his camp among the 
soldiers, and sold into captivity the slave-merchants, who, calculating 
on victory, had accompanied the invaders to purchase their prisoners. 
Two other victories freed Judaea from the Syrians, and the patriotic 
army entered their deserted capital. The holy places were repaired and 
purified, public worship was restored, and the feast of the dedication 
celebrated. Thus did Judas achieve the temporary independence of his 
country, and rescue his nation from apparently certain destruction. 

Antiochus, dying in 164, was succeeded by his son, surnamed Eupa- 
tor, who, acting under the advice of Lysias, immediately prepared to 
make war on Judaea. The Maccabees resisted bravely, but they were 
forced to a capitulation, the articles of which were instantly violated, 
and the walls of Jerusalem demolished. Demetrius, the rightful heir 
to the Syrian crown, now appeared and defeated his rival, who perished 
with his counsellor Lysias. A treacherous policy distinguished the 
proceedings of Demetrius towards the Jewish people, until Judas once 
more took up arms and expelled the tyrant. This gallant patriot, after 
twice defeating Nicanor, sought to strengthen himself by a Roman 
alliance; but before the treaty could be made known, the Syrian general 
Bacchides entered Palestine with so strong a force as to defy all oppo- 
sition. Judas disdained to flee, and encountering the invaders, was 
overpowered by numbers, when he fell fighting with heroic valour, 
" and all Israel made great lamentation for him, and mourned many days, 
saying, How is the valiant man fallen who delivered Israel!" 161 b. c. 

Jonathan, his younger brother, still maintained the contest of inde- 
pendence, and was eventually successful, becoming master of the coun- 
try almost without a blow. By a treaty with Demetrius, nominating 
him high priest, he united both the civil and religious authority, and 

* Mattathias, a rich inhabitant of the village of Modin, offered the first resistance 
to the tyranny of Antiochus ; and when his age and infirm health were no longer able 
to support the harassing mountain warfare, he transferred the command to another of 
the Asmonean family, Judas, his third and bravest son. This hero bore on his standard 
the letters M. C. C. B. J. (Mi Camo-Ca Baalim Jehovah — Who among the gods is like 
\into thee, O Lord ?), and hence he acquired the name of Maccabee. — See Cotton's Five 
Books of the Maccabees. 



112 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

was the first of the Asmonean princes. After a pacific reign of several 
years, he was treacherously seized by the insurgent Tryphon, and 
cruelly murdered, 143 b. c. His funeral was conducted with great 
magnificence; and his sepulchre, on a lofty eminence, became a sea- 
mark to the mariners sailing along that coast. One of the first acts of 
Simon, who succeeded his brother Jonathan, was the reduction of the 
Syrian garrison on Mount Sion. He not only destroyed the citadel, 
but, according to Josephus, levelled the hill on which it stood, so that 
it no longer commanded the temple. Under his wise administration 
the country prospered, and the fields were cultivated in tranquillity. 
He was succeeded by his son John, surnamed Hyrcanus, in whose time 
Judtea was annexed to Syria, but on the death of Antiochus Sidetes, in 
130, its independence was recovered, and its territories enlarged by the 
conquest of Samaria and Galilee. Aristobulus, on the death of his 
father, John Hyrcanus, in 106, assumed the crown and the title of king. 
During his short reign of one year, he starved his mother to death, com- 
mitted three of his brothers to prison, and caused the fourth to be assas- 
s'nated. • 



FIRST CENTURY. 



Rome. — 88, Social War. — Mithridatic War. — Marius and Sylla. — 73, Servile 
War. — 63, Catiline's Conspiracy. — 60, First Triumvirate. — 48, Pharsalia. — 
31, Actium. — 30, Egypt a Roman province. — 27, Augustus Emperor. — a. m. 
4004,* Birth of Christ. 

Judjsa. — 68, Civil War between Hyrcanus II. and Aristobulus II. — 63, Jeru- 
salem taken by Pompey. — 40, Herod, king of Judaea. — 29, Murder of 
Mariamne. 

Inventions, &c. — 63, Shorthand, by Cicero.— 60, Flux and Reflux of the 
Tides, by Posidonius, who endeavours to measure the circumference of the 
Earth. — 45, Calendar reformed, by Caesar. — 6, Lunar Cycle or Golden 
Number. 

Literature, &c. — Lucretius, Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Cicero, Caesar, 
Sallust, Livy, Vitruvius, Nepos, Tibullus, Propertius, Dionysius of Hali- 
carnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo. 

ROME. 

Marius and Saturninus. — As the danger of barbaric invasion passed 
away, the gratitude of the people became less intense, and when Marius 
was a sixth time candidate for the supreme honours, he was warmly 
opposed by the senate and their favourite Metellus Numidicus. To 
remove this last, it was necessary that Saturninus, a seditious dema- 
gogue, should be chosen tribune ; to effect which, a league was formed 
between him, Marius, and the praetor Glaucia, a man of depraved cha- 
racter. They resolved to obtain their ends by violence, should all other 
means fail ; and finding the ballot was against them, and the ten tri- 
bunes already nominated, the partisans of Saturninus threw down the 

♦The Christian era commences from that year of the world; but our Saviour was 
born four years before, or, more properly, in the fifth year before the common era. 



FIRST CENTUKY B.C. 113 

urns, drove away the tribunes, and killed Nonius, one of their number, 
in whose place he was chosen on the morrow by an armed body, which 
filled the hall of election. In virtue of the first law enacted by the new 
tribune, extensive lands in the north of Italy were distributed among the 
pruletara who had composed the legions of Marius. When the period 
of the consular elections arrived, Glaucia became a candidate, and, to 
ensure success, Saturninus caused Memmius, the rival of his friend, to 
be assassinated. Such a crime excited general indignation, and Marius 
was compelled to relinquish his former colleagues, who had taken refuge 
in the Capitol. Being soon reduced to surrender, they were cruelly 
massacred by the people ; the laws of Saturninus were abolished ; Me- 
tellus returned in triumph from his exile, 99, and Marius retired to Asia. 
The democracy had triumphed in the election of Marius, who was 
more formidable than the Gracchi, as he united the talents of a great 
general with the vices of a demagogue. By his elevation to the consu- 
late the aristocracy was humbled, and the path to the highest honours 
henceforward lay open to the meanest of birth ; but by his weakness 
and incapacity in political arrangements, he was unable to execute his 
furious plans against the nobles. The masses of the people were, how- 
ever, supreme, and events showed that no man's life was safe who 
opposed their sovereign will. Livius Drusus, the same who had been 
employed to destroy the popularity of Caius Gracchus, endeavoured to 
conciliate all parties and interests. To gain over the people, he pro- 
posed the foundation of new colonies throughout Italy, fresh distributions 
of corn, an increase in the number of senators by adding to them 300 
of the noblest equites, and the presentation of the civic freedom to the 
Italians. All these laws were accepted by the people, but met with a 
violent opposition from the consuls and the knights whose unconstitu- 
tional privileges were attacked. The tribune, w T ho succeeded only by 
employing violence, was by his victory thrown into the greatest embar- 
rassment. The allies, by whose assistance he had gained it, called upon 
him to fulfill his pledges, and to confer the right of citizenship. Find- 
ing him unwilling, or perhaps unable, to keep his promise, they formed 
a conspiracy for the murder of the hostile consuls, whom Drusus made 
acquainted with their danger. His antagonists were not equally 
generous, for a blow from an assassin cut short his projects, 91. The 
Italian towns did not feel inclined to relinquish their title to a partici- 
pation in civic rights, and the haughty rejection of their petitions was 
followed by a general revolt. They formed the plan of a separate 
republic, similar in all respects to the Roman. Corfinium was to be 
the capital, with its senate, consuls, praetors, and other magis- 
trates. Pompaedius Silo was the chief of the league, in the first rank 
of which were the Marsians and Samnites. Army after army was 
defeated, and the war was characterized by the most barbarous cruel- 
ties. At length, when 300,000 lives had been sacrificed, and the 
resources of both parties were nearly exhausted, the Italians were 
admitted to all the privileges of Roman citizens, 88 b. c, an act which 
essentially changed the constitution, and promoted the views of the dis- 
affected. 

Mithridates, king of Pontus, was one of the most formidable ene- 
mies the Romans ever encountered. His dominions, situated on the 
southern shores of the Black Sea, had long been independent of the 
10* 



114 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Persian throne ; and having escaped the fate of other Asiatic princes, he 
became by degrees the supreme ruler in that part of the continent. He 
was too powerful a neighbour to remain long unmolested. The social 
war was scarcely terminated, when it was announced that in one day 
80,000 Romans had been massacred in his provinces, 88 b. c. ; and that, 
driving their armies before him, he had succeeded in extending his 
authority to the shores of the yEgean Sea. The patrician Sylla, once 
the lieutenant, now the rival of Marius, was appointed to conduct the 
war ; but the latter had the decree cancelled, and the command con- 
ferred on himself. Sylla, who was besieging Nola, immediately 
hastened to Rome, and compelled his rival to flee to Africa. He next 
marched against Mithridates, and after a short but successful campaign 
in Bceotia and Thessaly, a favourable peace was concluded, 84 b. c, 
by which the Asiatic monarch lost Greece, Macedonia, Ionia, and other 
provinces which he had seized, and also a great portion of his fleet. 
Sylla purchased the support of his legions by distributing them among 
the wealthy cities of Lesser Asia ; besides which they received regular 
pay, with food and lodging. 

First Civil War. — Cinna, one of the consuls, availed himself of 
the victorious general's absence to strengthen the powers of the Marian 
party, and even to recall the fugitive himself, who entered Rome almost 
without, opposition, and soon began to glut his revenge. The principal 
senators were slain, the high priest of Jupiter was murdered at the 
altar, and the head of the orator Antonius was brought to Marius while 
he sat at supper. During five days and as many nights, the city was 
abandoned to the violence of the slaves, until at length Cinna and 
Sertorius, wearied with the excess of horrors, attacked these assassins 
in the night, while they were asleep in their camp, and slaughtered 
them all. Marius was not at ease in the midst of his triumph ; the 
report of Sylla's victories had reached his ears. To blunt his senses 
against the thought of impending vengeance, he gave way to dissipation, 
which carried him off in his seventh consulate, and the seventieth year 
of his age, 86 b. c. The conqueror hurried towards Rome immediately 
on the conclusion of peace, and was joined by the majority of the army 
and all the wealthier orders ; but even when he was at the gates, the 
Marian party attacked and massacred the senate in the Hostilian curia. 
The extent of his revenge far exceeded the provocation, for the senate- 
house resounded with the shrieks of no fewer than 8000 of the opposite 
party, who were murdered in its vicinity after having surrendered ; and 
the names of 5000 citizens are said to have been published on the pro 
scription lists. " Wives shut their doors against their husbands ; chil- 
dren slew their own fathers: death was the only refuge from cruelty." 
If blood had flowed in the time of Marius, it now pouieJ in torrents. 
In these dreadful commotions, 33 consulars, 70 praetors, 00 gediles, 200 
senators, and 150,000 Roman citizens lost their lives, while thousands 
more were stripped of their property, and driven forth in beggary. Sylla 
at once assumed the dictatorship, and desirous of concentrating all 
power in the hands of the senate, deprived the people of many privi- 
leges, and cancelled the rights of citizenship given to the Italian cities. 
Twenty-three legions were quartered throughout the peninsula, and 
Etruria was almost entirely abandoned to his licentious troops. Never- 
many reforms, created four new tribunals, raised the 



FIRST CENTURY B.C. 115 

number of pra?tors to ei^ht, repressed the exactions of the governors of 
provinces, and fixed the age and qualifications necessary for each 
magisterial office. In two years he voluntarily resigned his despotic 
authority, and retired to Cumre, where his death, the consequence of his 
vicious habits, soon followed, 78 b. c. 

Sylla's disdainful abandonment of the dictatorship, an office which he had 
renewed after the lapse of 120 years, seems less extraordinary when it is con 
sidered that he left the supreme authority in the hands of his own party, 
strengthened by the most extensive privileges, and by an army satiated with 
blood and plunder. But every thing was paving the way for a monarchy. The 
rivalry of the orders was followed by a contest for universal power, and this in 
turn for the dominion of Rome. The strife of parties preceded that of indi- 
viduals. Marius and Sylla, Caesar and Pompey, fought in the names of the 
senate or the people — Antony and Octavianus for the sovereignty of the world. 
The Roman polity was already so endangered by abuses and the consequence 
of the Social War, that a military despotism alone could preserve it from 
anarchy. Sylla did not employ his influence wisely. By destroying the 
popular power, and by investing the patriciate with the whole authority — the 
judicial and elective franchise — he laid the foundation of Ceesar's fortune, of 
that man in whom he saw many Mariuses. 

Sertorian War. — Although the democratic faction had lost their 
chiefs by proscription and murder, the party still survived with all its 
wrongs unsatisfied, and was even increased by the law which prevented 
the tribunes from filling any of the higher offices of the state. Lepidus, 
and Brutus the father of him who assassinated Caesar, put themselves at 
the head of the people, but all their exertions proved vain. Their par- 
tisans, and the remnants of the armies they had collected, served to 
increase the force of Sertorius. This old lieutenant of Marius had long 
been celebrated for his courage and skill. In a battle against the 
Cimbri, fought on the banks of the Rhone, and in which 80,000 Romans 
fell, he escaped almost alone with his sword and buckler. Other cir- 
cumstances had established his reputation in Spain, when he was driven 
by the legions of the victorious Sylla into Africa, where he remained 
until invited by the Lusitanians to take the command of their troops. 
With an army of less than 10,000 men, Italians, Africans, and Span- 
iards, he maintained his ground against four Roman generals at the 
head of 120,000. Metellus aud Pompey, who were sent against him, 
sustained a severe defeat near Tarragona. Rome was at last freed from 
an enemy who had resisted her whole strength during several years, by 
the treachery of his lieutenant Perpenna, who slew T him at a feast. The 
assassin, however, was punished in a manner worthy of his crime, in 
che year 72 b. c. 

Servile War. — While Rome was combating Sertorius in Spain, and 
Mithridates in Asia, a new war of a singular character broke out in 
Italy, 73. Some Thracian gladiators, discontented with their lot, ran 
away from their master and seized on a strong fort in the hills near 
Capua ; Spartacus, a man of remarkable bodily strength and courage, 
being their leader. Their first successes soon increased the number of 
their little army ; fugitive slaves, shepherds, and others, raised it to 
70,000 men. All the troops sent against them were worsted until the 
command was conferred on Crassus. Spartacus was at this time 
encamped in the peninsula of Rhegium, where he was enclosed by a 
deep trench and wall fifteen leagues in length, drawn from sea to sea, 



110 ANCIENT IIISTOllY. 

and thus cut off from all assistance by land. The resolute gladiator 
broke through this line ; but although he defeated several lieutenants 
of Crassus, he soon afterwards fell in a general action, in which his 
followers were completely routed, 71 e. c. 

Read: Plutarch's Life of Crassus. 

Pompey. — Crassus had hastened the termination of the war from 
jealousy of Pompey, who was marching from Spain to his assistance. 
The latter general, nevertheless, reaped all the glory, for meeting 10,000 
of the gladiators who had escaped in the last battle, he slew the greater 
part of them ; and in announcing his good fortune to the senate, he 
wrote, that if Crassus had cut down the tree, he had torn up its roots. 
The two rivals united in claiming the consulate, but the very moment 
of their success was the beginning of a lasting dissension. The for- 
tune of Pompey was remarkable. Raised to the rank of general at the 
age of twenty-three, he levied three legions and marched them to join 
Sylla. To him alone the terrible dictator was gentle, flattering his 
vanity by the titles of Magnus and Imperator ; and on the death of that 
commander he became the champion of the aristocracy. His political 
conduct was not very decided ; but by the people he was regarded with 
unqualified enthusiasm and admiration. 

Pompey was entirely gained by the applause universally lavished 
upon him, and in return, during his consulate, he procured the revoca- 
tion of the tribunitial law of Sylla, and the re-establishment of the tri- 
bunes in their ancient rights. He, moreover, carried an important law, 
by which the judicial authority was transferred from the senators to the 
knights, thus effecting a great revolution, and giving to the latter a pre- 
dominance in the state. This change was brought about by the trial of 
Verres, the unprincipled governor of Sicily. 

Verres. — This man, whose whole life had been one scene of avarice, 
debauchery, and cruelty, was accused of crimes that were probably too 
frequent in the history of Roman proconsuls. Enormous taxes were 
imposed upon the cities; public money was embezzled; the navy was 
neglected ; pirates were allowed to enter the port of Syracuse ; com- 
manders who were defeated owing to the want of soldiers were cruelly 
put to death ; private houses and temples were pillaged of all their 
valuable works of art; and two vessels were yearly sent to Rome laden 
with plunder. When removed from his post, his accusers preceded him 
on his return to Rome ; but he was without fear as to the issue of his 
trial, for he boasted of having amassed wealth enough to screen him 
from justice. Cicero was his accuser, and the result of the trial was a 
voluntary exile, after he had repaid to the Sicilians about one-third part 
only of what the illustrious orator had claimed. 

Piratical War. — To reward Pompey for the favour conferred upon 
the knights, they gave him the command of the army in a war ayainst 
the pirates. These were men of various countries, particularly Cilicia, 
who, taking advantage of the civil broils, and profiting by the lessons 
then taught, infested all the coasts of the empire. In many respects 
they resembled the Buccaneers of America, and so great was their 
audacity, that no place was safe from their attacks. Legions had been 
routed, magistrates arrested, and foreign commerce entirely stopped, 
when Pompey at length thoroughly defeated them, and cleared the seas 



FIRST CENTURY B.C. 117 

in the short space of forty days. He repeopled many deserted cities by 
settling- in them 20,000 prisoners whom he had taken, and restored a 
town which afterwards bore his name. 

Mithridates had profited by the peace made with Sylla to recruit 
his army, and increase his kingdom by conquers on the Bosphorus and 
in Colchis. But the possession of these savage countries did not 
satisfy him ; he still longed to add Cappadocia, the most fertile part of 
Asia Minor, to his dominions. Thinking the opportunity favourable, 
he equipped a numerous fleet, and collected an army of 160,000 men. 
Two consuls were sent against him, 74 b. c. ; one of whom, Cotta, was 
defeated, and the Roman ships were entirely destroyed. But the other, 
Lucullus, who had derived his military knowledge from the eloquent 
pages of Xenophon and Thucydides, exhausted by his prudent manoeu- 
vres the strength of the enemy, and compelled their sovereign to take 
refuge with Tigranes king of Armenia. The success of the victor 
against these allied monarchs was less decisive owing to the insubordi- 
nation of his troops. Two of his lieutenants being worsted, he was 
recalled, and Glabrio, who succeeded him, was so completely routed 
that the whole peninsula of Lesser Asia had nearly fallen into the hands 
of Mithridates. Pompey, who was next sent against him, overcame 
every obstacle by the rapidity of his marches ; and in a night-attack the 
enemy's troops were almost entirely cut to pieces, the king himself 
escaping with only 800 horsemen. It was now that this daring- prince, 
in his extremity, formed the design of transferring the war into the 
Roman territory, raising in his march the barbarous tribes which dwelt 
between the Tanais and the Alps. Treason cut short this extraordinary 
project; and being unwilling to survive the ingratitude of his beloved 
son Pharnaces, poison, administered by his own hand, terminated his 
eventful life, 63 b. c. During the space of twenty-six years he had 
sustained a war against the arms of Rome, conducted by her most cele- 
brated generals. Pompey, on returning from his eastern campaign, was 
honoured with a splendid triumph, when he contributed to the treasury 
the sum of 20,000 talents. Pharnaces took advantage of the civil war, 
and endeavoured to recover Armenia and Cappadocia; but Caesar, 
marching against him from Egypt, defeated his projects. The brief 
despatch of the conqueror is familiar to all: " Veni, vidi, vici," — I 
came, saw, and conquered. Pontus was declared a Roman province 
about 36 b. c. After the Crusades, the family of the Comneni estab- 
lished the monarchy of Trebizond (a. n. 1204), which was destroyed 
by Mohammed II. 

Reflections. — The republic had now reached its highest pitch ; there was 
no longer any foreign enemy to excite her apprehensions ; but the change in 
her constitution, and the re-establishment of the tribunitial power, endangered 
her existence, 70. This victory of the democracy led the way to an oppres- 
sive oligarchy, and that to the formation of a terrible conspiracy, which if suc- 
cessful would have placed the power in the hands of the ambitious, the profli- 
gate, and the- criminal. 

Catiline's Conspiracy. — L. Sergius Catilina was of patrician birth, 
and of a family distinguished for its services to the state, but his ruined 
fortunes and profligacy tempted him to form the dangerous project of 
overthrowing the government ; to ensure which design, he became a 
candidate for the consulship. The first time he was rejected ; two 



118 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

years later, he was defeated by Cicero, in defiance of his violent parti- 
sans. He had no longer any hope of attaining the supreme power but 
by force ; and with this intent an army was collected by Manlius in 
Etruria, while the traitors at Rome were plotting a general massacre and 
conflagration. Their designs were discovered: Catiline was boldly 
accused in the senate, and, to save his life, he fled to the troops which 
his accomplices had raised. Many of the conspirators who had been 
left in the city were led to prison and put to death ; which proof of 
resolution so disconcerted the rebels, that they were defeated by the 
consul Antonius, and their leader fell as bravely as he had lived un- 
worthily, 63 b. c. Cicero was honoured with the title of Father of 
his Country ; but he did not escape the odium which attends all extra- 
ordinary vigour in the execution of the laws during a time of public 
confusion. The tribune refused to administer the usual oath when the 
consul laid down his office; upon w T hich the orator *wore that he had 
saved the state, and the shout of the admiring people testified their 
approbation. He was shortly after driven into exile by Clodius, in 
virtue of a law recently enacted, which banished all who had put a 
citizen to death without trial. At his departure 20,000 of the knights, 
and part of the senate, wore mourning garments. He was recalled by 
the influence of Pompey in the subsequent year, 57 b. c. 

First Triumvirate, 60 b. c. — At this period the leading men in Rome 
were Pompey, who had merited the surname of Great by his victories 
in Asia — Crassus, who had acquired immense wealth by the proscrip- 
tions of Sylla — and Julius Caesar, in whom were united the highest 
civil and military talents, and who, during his praetorship in Spain, 
besides recruiting his ruined fortunes, had ingratiated himself with the 
army. These three united their influence, and formed that celebrated 
compact known by the name of the Triumvirate. The powers of the 
senate were usurped by them, as well as the command of the legions. 
On the termination of his consulate, Caesar was re-appointed to the 
government of Gaul for five years. Crassus, led away by his avari- 
cious spirit, took the command of Syria, famed for its luxury and wealth, 
but was shortly after defeated and put to death at Charrae, 53 b. c. 
Pompey still remained in Italy. 

At the epoch of the renewal of the first triumvirate the internal con- 
dition of Rome was very deplorable. Offices for the sale of votes were 
opened in the neighbourhood of the Campus Martius ; and to such an 
extent was this traffic carried, that the rate of interest rose from four to 
eight per cent. On one occasion the two retiring candidates, Memmius 
and Gabinius, forged an edict of the senate and the people, which would 
have conferred their office on two candidates by whom they had been 
largely bribed. During six months the city remained without its 
supreme magistrates; and all eyes were turned towards Pompey, whose 
indecision prevented him from grasping the dictatorship. The forum 
became a scene of contention, r« which the rivalry of Clodius and Milo 
created much confusion. To terminate the disorders which followed the 
death of the former of these partisans, the consulate was offered to 
Pompey alone. The senators were now secure in regard to one of the 
popular leaders ; by several wholesome regulations order was re-estab- 
lished; the laws were impartially administered; and the public places 
were no longer stained with blood. The great object now was to get 



FIRST CENTURY B.C. 119 

.id of Caesar, to which measure Pompey was continually excited by the 
language and insulting conduct of the senate. 

Cesar's Gallic Campaign, 58 b. c. — Caesar was now beginning a 
long career of victory. Gaul opened a vast field for his ambition ; it 
supplied him with the means of keeping a large and well-disciplined 
army always within a few days' march of Rome, the southern bounda- 
ries of his province being the Arno and the Rubicon. The brave people 
who inhabited this country were of Celtic origin, but their disunion 
proved their ruin. In eight campaigns Caesar entirely overran their 
territory : he reduced the Helveth ; drove Ariovistus back into Ger- 
many ; and, after frequent revolts, Gaul submitted to his arms. It was 
during a brief interval of peace that he visited Britain, 55 b. c, but 
the island was not subdued till the close of the first century after Christ. 

At the termination of the Gallic war the conduct of the victor under- 
went a great change. The last winter he passed beyond the Alps was 
spent in visiting the various cities. He exercised no violence, but left 
them entirely free in their internal government, requiring only a contri- 
bution of forty millions of sesterces as pay for his men. The best sol- 
diers of the nation he enrolled in his army, and formed of them the 
renowned legion Mauda. His light troops were composed almost 
entirely of Gauls from either province. 

The Second Civil War, 49 b. c, had its origin in these circum- 
stances : — The rapid victories of Caesar so roused the jealousy of Pom- 
pey, who had been appointed sole consul, that when the former demanded 
the prolongation of his government, and to be nominated though absent, 
he was ordered to disband his legions, to which unjust command he 
yielded with a slight exception. But the senate, with Pompey at their 
head, before they could receive his answer, commenced hostile proceed- 
ings against him. The tribunes fled disguised from Rome, and sought 
refuge in the camp of Caesar, who thus became tne head of the popular 
party. ' Nothing but war could now decide the differences of the rival 
generals. Julius had reached the banks of the Rubicon, a little stream, 
the boundary of his government, and which it was treason to cross in a 
hostile manner ; an inscription to which purpose, devoting the trans- 
gressor to the infernal deities, may still be seen on the road between 
Rimini and Cesena. " On horseback, in the open air, Caesar all night 
long pondered the weighty question of submission or resistance. At 
daybreak his anxious soldiers found him still riding to and fro, deep 
sunk in thought. At length he cried, The die is cast! gave his horse 
the spur, and sprang across the stream, followed by his troops." All 
Italy received him with joy. The senate retired with their army into 
Greece; and in sixty days the submission of the whole peninsula show- 
ed the emptiness of Pompey's boast, that with a single stamp of hi& 
foot he could raise legions. Entering Rome, the governor of Gaul 
seized upon the treasury, and, leaving Antony and Lepidus as his lieu- 
tenants, he marched into Spain, where the hostile forces surrendered 
without a blow. Returning to Marseilles, which had shut her gates 
upon him, he punished the inhabitants with great severity. Without 
loss of time, he crossed the sea, and hastened to meet Pompey,* whr 



* Ocior et cceli flammis et tigride fceta : 
Dum se deesse Deis, et non sibi Numina credit. 



^20 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

nad already collected a numerous army, and most of the high-born youth 
of the day, who had been finishing their education at Athens, enrolled 
themselves among his troops. But the activity of Caesar deranged his 
plan of protracting the war ; for after some trivial successes, he was 
utterly defeated at Pharsalia, 48 b. c, and was assassinated on the 
Egyptian shore, near the mouth of the Nile. Caesar followed up the 
scattered relics of the party, and reducing Egypt, bestowed it on Cleo- 
patra. Cato the younger, who still dreamt of a republic, had assembled 
in Africa a small body of men of like sentiments with himself, but 
being vanquished and reduced to despair, he fell by his own hand. A 
second campaign in the Spanish peninsula completed the annihilation 
of Caesar's enemies, and the conqueror entered Rome in triumph, where 
he was made perpetual dictator, and saluted with the title of Father of 
his Country. Statues were erected in his honour, as to a god, and a 
festival with thanksgiving of forty days was decreed. Four times in 
the course of one month he appeared in triumphal processions represent- 
ing his victories over Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and Africa. Sixty thou- 
sand talents of silver and two thousand eight hundred and twenty-two 
crowns of gold formed part of the splendid show. Immense largesses 
in money and land were distributed to his faithful veterans, while public 
banquets and distributions of corn, meat, and oil, with a diminution of 
their rents, won the hearts of the people. Gladiatorial combats, thea- 
trical representations, races, Trojan games, and military shows, were 
seen in all parts of the city. But amidst this general intoxication, 
Caesar did not forget more important cares. He aided in the reform of 
the Calendar, a work undertaken by Sosigenes ; passed laws against 
treasonable attempts; increased the number of magistrates; colonized 
many parts of Italy, as well as Carthage and Corinth; and awarded the 
rights of citizenship to all professors of medicine and of the liberal arts. 
Death of Cesar. — The peaceful administration of one man, who 
had triumphed over the great parties in the state, and who by his exam- 
ple was advancing the cause of literature and the arts, seemed destined 
to heal the numerous wounds in the Roman dominions. But false ideas 
of patriotism, and visionary notions of republican virtue, which never 
could be realized again in Rome, armed some of the noblest and best 
of men against Caesar. At their head were Brutus and Cassius, whom 
he had generously pardoned. He fell under their daggers in the senate- 
house, March 15, forty-four years before the Christian era. "The 
tyrant is dead, but tyranny still lives," said Tully. The murder of the 
dictator introduced a new period of anarchy and civil war, during which 
the whole world was trodden down and desolated by conflicting armies. 
The conspirators were unable to profit by the advantage which they had 
obtained. They trembled at the crime they had committed, and talked 
while they should have acted. 

Character of Ccesar. 

Lord Bacon thought Julius Caesar to be the most complete character of all 
antiquity. Nature seems incapable of such extraordinary combinations as com- 
posed his versatile capacity, which was the wonder even of the Romans them- 
selves. The first general — [he fought 50 battles, in which 1,192,000 men 
fell] — the only triumphant politician — inferior to none in eloquence — com- 
parable to any in the attainments of wisdom, in an age made up of the greatest 
commanders, statesmen, orators, and philosophers, that ever appeared in the 



FIRST CENTURA B. C. 121 

world — an author who composed a perfect specimen of military annals in his 
travelling carriage — [he wrote as he fought, said Quinctilian] — at one time in 
a controversy with Cato, at another writing a treatise on punning, and collect- 
ing a set of good sayings— fighting and making love at the same moment, and 
willing to abandon both his empire and his mistress for a sight of the fountains 
of the Nile. Such did Julius Caesar appear to his contemporaries and to those 
of the subsequent ages who were the most inclined to deplore and execrate his 
fatal genius.— Childe Harold, Note to Canto IV. 

Third Civil War. — Meanwhile, Antony seized upon the contents 
of the treasury, between five and six millions sterling, and with this 
money bought many influential men, the veterans and the people. 
Cicero exhausted the stores of his eloquence in vain, for the other 
steadily pursued his ambitious course. The senate opposed to him the 
young Octavianus (afterwards called Augustus), who already possessed 
all the coolness, subtleness, and relentless determination of purpose 
which characterized the latter portion of his career.* A war now broke 
out, and in the course of it, Antony had sufficient address to withdraw 
him from Cicero's party, and with Lepidus to form the 

Second Triumvirate, 43 b. c. — The horrors of the former triumvirate 
were far exceeded by this, for 300 senators, 2000 knights, the best and 
noblest of the citizens, were proscribed. Each sacrificed his own friends 
to the vengeance of his colleagues, and Cicero, who had long manifest- 
ed a prophetic consciousness of his peril, was among the number. With 
him fell the liberties of Rome ; but it was not so much patriotism that 
pointed the sword against his life, as the personal vindictiveness of 
Antony which demanded the victim. The orator had no longer any 
power to save or destroy the government, for the republic had passed 
away, and a monarchy alone could succeed. Brutus and Cassius were 
still at the head of a powerful army ; but a doubtful battle at Philippi, 
followed by the death of the two generals, relieved the triumvirs of all 
cause of fear, 42 b. c. The unsuccessful expedition of Antony into 
Asia, with his licentious conduct in Egypt, afforded Octavianus an 
f-xcuse for declaring him a public enemy. The wily triumvir, armed 
with the specious authority of the senate, went against his former asso- 
ciate, whom he met and defeated in a sea-fight near Actium, 31 b. c.f 

The defeat of Sextus Pompeius, the resignation of Lepidus, and the 
death of Antony, placed the whole government in the hands of Caesar 
Octavianus, now called Augustus, 27 b. c. To supply the want of 
money, Sylla had introduced the system of military colonies, which the 
new ruler extended to reward the services of his troops. The Shepherd 
of Virgil was not the only victim who, in the bitterness of his destitu- 
tion, exclaimed — 

Nos patriae fines, et dulcia linquimus arva : 
Nos patriam fugimus. 

* A recent historian thus describes him : — He was a youth of eighteen, small and deli- 
cate, often sick, frequently halt of one leg, timid, and speaking with such difficulty, that 
later in life he used to write beforehand what he desired to say to his wife ; so indistinct 
and feeble was his voice that he was obliged to employ another to speak for him before 
the people. He wanted not political boldness, for he must have had much to venture to 
Rome to claim the succession of Cffisar, as his nephew and heir ; other courage he had 
none; fearing the thunder, darkness, and the enemy, and implacable towards all who 
excited his fears. 

t This battle gave occasion to a new era, called the Actian, and used by the Egyp- 
tians. It began with the 29th August 30 b. c, the first day of their year. 
11 



122 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Augustus, now emperor, subdued the revolted Spaniards, made peace 
with Ethiopia, compelled the Parthians to restore the standards they 
had taken from Crassus and Antony, and Germany was forced to 
acknowledge his power. The Roman empire at this period included 
the fairest portion of the world lying around the Mediterranean, enclosed 
by the Rhine, Danube, Euphrates, and the sandy deserts of Syria and 
Africa. Victorious by land and sea, its master the third time closed the 
temple of Janus ; and it was in this moment of universal peace that 
Jesus Christ was born, four years before the common account called a. d. 

SECOND LITERARY ERA — the Augustan. 

The history of Roman literature comprehends a space of seven centuries ; 
from about the middle of the third century before Christ, till the taking of 
Rome by the Goths. The first period, from the end of the first Punic war, till 
the death of Sylla (241-78), saw the formation of the Latin language, and the 
imitation of the imperishable creations of Greek genius. The second period 
(78 B. c. to a.d. 14), forms the Augustan or Golden age, one of the most me- 
morable epochs in the history of literature. The third period, or Silver age 
(a. d. 14-117), is remarkable not for the want of genius, but the decline of taste. 
The names of Tacitus, Quinctilian, the younger Pliny, and Q. Curtius adorn 
the annals of this century. The fourth period, or the Brazen age, extends till 
a. d. 410, when Rome was taken by the Goths. Eutropius, Aurelius Victor, 
and Jerome testify at once to the feebleness of the genius and the depraved 
taste of these three centuries. 

The genius of Pericles was revived in Augustus ; a more impracticable 
language than the Greek was about to give fresh laws and fresh models to 
posterity. The emperor had the art to conciliate the literary men of his day, 
and in their lavish flatteries we almost lose sight of his real character. He was 
ably seconded by his prime minister, Maecenas, whose name has become a 
proverb. Among the distinguished writers in this age we may remark, in 

Eloquence : Cicero, d. 43 ; Hortensius, Caesar. 

Poetry: Lucretius, d. 51; Virgil, d. 27; Tibullus, d. 20; Propertius, d. 
16 ; and Horace, d. 8 ; of whom the last four lost their estates during the civil 
wars ; Catullus, d. 49; Ovid, d. a. n. 17; Lucan, a. d. 65 ; Phaedrus, Petro 
nius, d. 67. 

Tragedy: Seneca, d. a.d. 64. 

Comedy : Plautus, 184 b. c. Terence, 159 b. c. 

Satire: Horace, Perseus, a.d. 62; Juvenal, a.d. 128. 

History : Caesar ; C. Nepos, d. 30; Sallust, d. 34 ; Livy, d. a. d. 19 ; Cur- 
tius, Tacitus, a. D. 99 ; Valerius Maximus. 

Philosophy : Cicero, Seneca, Celsus, d. a. d. 20. 

In this sketch, the limits assigned to the Augustan era have been exceeded, 
but with the design of bringing together some of the most celebrated names in 
Roman history. There are others who wrote in Greek, but who are less 
worthy of mention, as their works had no direct influence on Latin Letters. 
They are Polybius (124 b. a), who was with Scipio when Carthage fell ; 
Diodorus Siculus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus ; Strabo ; Josephus; and 
Plutarch. 

Prepare : Map of the Roman Empire. 

JUDiEA. 

Alexander Jann^eus succeeded his brother Aristobulus 105 b. c. 
He was perpetually engaged in war, and by rashly provoking the king 
of Egypt, brought his country to the verge of ruin. His enmity to the 
Pharisees led to an open revolt, which, after various reverses, was 
quelled by the total defeat of the rebels, whom he punished with 



FIRST CENTURY B.C. 123 

remorseless cruelty. He died in 78, and the government was adminis- 
tered by his widow, Alexandra, who, following her husband's dying 
counsels, had become reconciled to the Pharisees. On her death in 69, 
this sect and the army severally put forward their favourites, Hyrcanus 
II. and Aristobulus II. A desultory war ensued, which was terminated 
by the interference of the Romans. Pompey decided in favour of Hyr- 
canus, and having captured Jerusalem in 63, sent Aristobulus with his 
family prisoners to Rome. The escape of the deposed monarch and his 
sons was the signal for another insurrection, which was soon repressed 
by the vigour of Crassus. Caesar, after defeating his rival Pompey, 
confirmed the authority of Hyrcanus, or rather of the crafty Idumaean 
Antipater under his name, who managed to procure the government of 
Galilee for his son Herod. After the battle of Philippi, Herod used the 
favour of Antony to strengthen his own power. But he had still to con- 
tend with enemies: Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, renewed the 
struggle for sovereignty, and compelled Herod to flee to Rome. Here 
he obtained from Antony and Octavianus the crown of Judaea, 40, and 
returning to his dominions, accomplished the prophecy of Jacob fore- 
telling the appearance of the Messiah when the sceptre should depart 
from Judah. 

Herod having overthrown his rival Antigonus, 37 b. c, became con- 
firmed as king of Judaea, and by the friendship of Augustus he after- 
wards added to his dominions Samaria, Galilee, Peraea, Ituraea, and 
Trachonitis, with Idumaea. He received the title of Great from the 
magnificence with which he rebuilt the temple ; but his reign was so 
tyrannical and barbarous that he was universally detested. He put to 
death his beloved wife Mariamne, whose image haunted him continually 
and brought on temporary derangement. Among his other victims were 
her mother, brother, grandfather, uncle, and two sons. Our Saviour 
was born in the last year of his reign. Five days before Herod died, 
his eldest son Antipater, for attempting to poison him, was put to death ; 
to Archelaus he assigned Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea ; and to Antipas 
the government of Galilee and Peraea. 



HOUSE OF HEROD. 
Antipater d. 43, b. c. 

Herod the Great, d. 3, b. c. 

m. 1. Doris. 2. Mariamne, 3. Many othera. 

one of the Maccabees. 

Antipater Alexander Aristobulus Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Philip, 

d. 3 B. C d 6B. C. d. 6 B. C. ethnarch, dep. A. D. 8. tetrarch,dep. A.D. 39. tetrarch,cf. A. D. 34. 

, * > in. Herodias. 

Herod Agrippa, d. a. d. 44. 



Herod II. Agrippa, d. a. d. 100. 



124 AKCIENT HISTORY. 

CHRISTIAN ERA. 

FIRST CENTURY. 

Home. — 9, Defeat of Varus. — Twelve Cjesars. — 79, First Eruption [recorded] 
of Vesuvius. 

Britain. — 43, Claudius in Britain. — 85, Agricola. 

Jud,2SA. — 8, Archelaus banished. — 41, Herod Agrippa. — Roman Procurators. 
— 70, Jerusalem destroyed. 

The Church. — 30, Crucifixion of Christ. — 40, Name of Christians — 64, Fir&c 
Persecution — 66, Martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul. — 95, Second Perse- 
cution. 

Inventions, &c. — 16, Introduction of Silk Dresses by Tiberius. — 60, Load- 
stone discovered. 

Literature, &c. — Phaedrus, Celsus, Q. Curtius, Persius, Plutarch, Epictetus, 
Lucan, Martial, Juvenal, Seneca, Quinctilian, Tacitus, Petronius, the two 
Plinys, Valerius Flaccus, Josephus, Dioscorides. 

ROME. 

Augustus. — The Roman empire peaceably submitted to the superior 
talents and craft of this fortunate soldier. Exhausted by the civil wars 
which continued nearly a whole century, repose was eagerly sought by 
all parties, and a population of 120 millions gladly yielded to the 
dominion of one man. The Roman frontiers, extending from the Atlan- 
tic to the Euphrates, and from the Rhine to the African deserts, were at 
peace, broken only by a brief war with the Germans, in which Varus 
and three legions were cut to pieces by Arminius, a. d. 9. Augustus 
never recovered his serenity of temper after that defeat. By the mild- 
ness of his government he acquired the love of the people, and by his 
affected submission to the senate he gained their constant support, 
although he had stript them of nearly all their power. Without either 
superior genius or extraordinary attainments, he was prudent enough to 
seize upon all opportunities of advancing his ambitious projects ; and 
his principles improved when the possession of unlimited power rendered 
crime useless. He was still a hypocritical voluptuary ; but the repose 
which he had procured to the empire, the flourishing state in which he 
left it, and the mild exercise of his authority, covered or excused his 
faults. His latter days were not happy. The profligacy of his daughter 
Julia, the ambition of his wife, and the loss of his adopted child, added 
poignancy to the stings of a guilty conscience. He died at Nola, a.d. 
14, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and the forty-first of his reign. 
Read: Blackwell's Court of Augustus. 

After the battle of Actium and the death of Antony, Augustus was desirous 
of legitimatizing his power by concealing it under legal forms. To veil his 
usurpation, he assumed the titles of the principal offices, using his power as 
censor to clear the senate of many personal enemies. All the acts of his 
triumvirate were annulled, as if he wished to show that he was now influenced 



FIRST CENTURY A. D. 125 

by different motives ; and his feigned proposal of abdication was earnestly com- 
bated by his friends, who persuaded him to prolong his power during ten more 
years. To prove his disinterestedness, he shared the administration of the 
empire with the senate, leaving to it the fair provinces of Italy and Sicily : 
while he, by his deputies, governed the remainder. He assumed no unusual 
power; and yet, by the simple means of uniting all offices in his own person, 
be became entirely autocratical. Corresponding changes in the administration 
of the state ensued; and although the senate still remained the supreme coun- 
cil, there was another and more important one, composed of his particular 
friends, such as Maecenas and Agrippa. Towards the end of his life, this body 
of men assumed the form of a modern cabinet {consistorium), being increased 
"by the addition of fifteen senators, and one of each magisterial college. They 
were afterwards divided into three classes, having in their hands the entire 
government. The popular assemblies and elections still remained ; but they 
were empty forms, the candidate nominated by the emperor never being rejected. 
Many salutary laws were enacted ; the public edifices and roads were kept in 
good repair ; a kind of police and night-watch were established ; and commu- 
nication between distant points was facilitated by the establishment of regular 
posts for the transmission of the imperial despatches. The finances remained 
nearly the same ; there were, however, two treasuries, that of the prince (fs- 
cus), the other of the senate (aranum). Besides introducing a regular organi- 
sation into the army, Augustus divided and separated the twenty-five legions, 
paid them regularly, and compensated their toils by money instead of land. 
The term of service was also fixed, and the soldiers, instead of being turbulent 
and insolent, as in the civil wars, became docile and peaceable. The entire 
body was distributed along the frontiers in stationary camps ; tranquillity was 
maintained in the interior by praetorian and urban cohorts. Two fleets, one at 
Ravenna, the other at Misenum, protected the commerce of the Mediterranean; 
forty vessels guarded the Euxine Sea, and armed boats secured the navigation 
of the Rhine and Danube. 

3. Tiberius, a. d. 14-37. — The reign of Augustus appears in a more 
favourable light when contrasted with those of his nearest successors. 
Tiberius was fifty-six years old when he ascended the throne, professing 
great unwillingness to take upon him its important cares. The first 
victim of this despotic emperor was the young Agrippa Posthumus, in 
whom he feared a rival ; and all restraint being now removed, the tyrant 
gave loose to his cruel and sensual passions. He soon afterwards 
retired from Rome to Campania, from whose luxurious retreats issued 
those blood-stained decrees which the senate was so ready to enregister ; 
and we may read in Suetonius and Tacitus of the murders committed 
by this body, in compliance with the imperial edicts. Sejanus, com- 
mander of the praetorian guards, and favourite of the monarch, dared to 
raise his thoughts to the highest station; and, to clear his way to the 
throne, got rid of all those whose claims were nearer than his owm. 
Germanicus, the son of Drusus, was poisoned ; his widow, Agrippina, 
was exiled to Pandataria, an island noted as the place of Julia's banish- 
ment ; his eldest son, Nero, committed suicide to avoid the torture; and 
Drusus, the second son, perished of hunger in prison. But Tiberius 
suddenly aw r oke to the treachery of his minister, and he who had filled 
all Rome with mourning w T as surrendered to the popular fury. From 
this period the emperor, exasperated by the dangers with which he had 
been threatened, indulged in fresh cruelties. The wealthy inhabitants 
of Gaul, Spain, and Greece, were condemned to death for the merest 
trifles, that their riches might augment the royal treasures. His latter 
years were passed in scenes of infamous debauchery at Capreae, and his 
death was hastened by the hands of a freedman, a. d. 37. 
11* 



126 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

During this odious reign, Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross 
his divine mission ; and then arose from Calvary that new and pure 
gospel which was destined to regenerate the world. 

Foreign Wars. — Tiberius imitated the policy of Augustus by engag- 
ing in no wars unnecessarily. In Gaul, two revolts, the result of 
excessive taxation, were with difficulty subdued ; while, in the East, the 
imperial ministers found safety in the troubles they excited among the 
tributary Persian states. Germany, however, in the days of Augustus, 
had been the scene of important military operations. The wife and 
infant son of Arminius {Hermann) had fallen into the hands of the 
Romans, to rescue whom all the neighbouring tribes rose in arms. 
Germanicus, eager to anticipate the terrible blow impending over his 
country, assumed the offensive, attacked and defeated several detached 
bodies of the enemy, and in the end had nearly gained a complete vic- 
tory. A bloody campaign led to no decisive result; the Germans could 
make no permanent impression on the well-disciplined legions, and the 
Romans were compelled to retire by sea, when a fearful tempest destroyed 
a great part of the fleet and army. Shortly after this, Arminius, who 
has been praised by Tacitus as the liberator of Germany from the domi- 
nion of Rome when in the height of her power, was assassinated at the 
age of thirty seven, eleven years after his triumph over Varus. 

4. Caligula, a. d. 37-41, began to reign with mildness, but a severe 
malady at the end of the first year disordered his intellect, after which 
his cruelty knew no bounds. His excesses can only be excused by 
supposing his mind to have been affe. ted. He fancied himself at one 
time a male, at another time a female, deity ; raised his wife and his 
horse to the consulate ; and fed his wild beasts with the bodies of 
citizens and captives. A violent death freed Rome from this frantic 
monster. 

5. Claudius, a. d. 41-54. — The senate, immediately upon the demise 
of Caligula, began to deliberate on the choice of a successor; but the 
praetorians, amounting to 10,000 men, instituted as a body-guard by 
Augustus, and kept in various garrisons throughout Italy, now took 
advantage of their being collected in Rome, to proclaim the supremacy 
of the army. They elected Claudius, during whose impotent rule 35 
senators and 300 knights fell by the hand of the executioner. He was 
quite a puppet under the management of his favourites Messalina and 
Agrippina, Pallas and Narcissus. In this reign, the conquest of South 
Britain was partly effected, a. d. 43. 

The first act of Claudius' government was to publish a general am- 
nesty, from which the murderers of his predecessor were alone excepted. 
He repealed all Caligula's edicts, showing the greatest deference for 
the senate and magistrates. He himself presided daily at the tribunal 
of justice, enacted many wise laws, annulled the cruel statutes against 
high-treason, diminished the taxes, checked usury, and encouraged 
marriage. It is not one of his smallest claims to the title of benefactor 
of his people, that he abolished in Gaul the blood-stained religion of the 
Druids. The principal inhabitants of that province were selected to fill 
the vacant seats in the senate-house, the censorship was re-established, 
the circumference of Rome enlarged, and a new port constructed at 
Ostia, for the reception of the African and Egyptian corn-vessels. But 



FIRST CENTURY A. D. 127 

the empire required the firm hand of a master, while Claudius was 
feeble and uxorious. His death by poison was effected by his second 
wife and an infamous sorceress Locusta, a. d. 54. 

6. Nero, a. d. 54-68, reigned mildly five years, guided by the ex- 
perience of Burrhus and Seneca, after which he was seized with a 
hereditary madness. He murdered his mother Agrippina, his brother, 
his tutor, and the poet Lucan. He set fire to Rome, and, while the city 
was burning, mounted a lofty tower, where, accompanying the words 
with the music of the harp, he sung his own poem on the fall of Troy. 
He appeared as a singer on the public stage, and contended as a herald 
or crier at Olympia. The people at last grew weary of his cruelty and 
debauchery; and he perished by the sword of his freedman. But his 
private vices were less dangerous to the state than his exactions in the 
provinces whence he drew the means of supporting his extravagance, 
and of keeping his subjects in a continual state of intoxication.* With 
him the Julian family became extinct; and in consequence of the dis- 
puted succession, four emperors arose in less than two years. 

7. Galba, a. d. 68, 69, was elected to the throne during Nero's life, 
but endeavouring to check the licentiousness of the army and praetorians 
who had raised him to so dangerous an eminence, he was murdered by 
the soldiers, after a reign of seven months. 

8. Otho, a. d. 69, who had plotted against the life of his predecessor, 
did not long enjoy the fruits of his treason. This companion of the 
early debaucheries of Nero had been sent, during that monarch's life, 
into the honourable banishment of the Spanish qusetorship, in which 
office he gained over the army, by whom he was invested with the 
purple. But he was scarcely acknowledged at Rome before the legions 
of Germany elected a competitor. Supported only by the praetorians 
and an undisciplined crowd, he was defeated by Vitellius, his rival, and 
committed suicide, after reigning three months and five days. 

9. Vitellius, a. d. 69, trod in the steps of his patron Caligula. 
Although he gave himself up entirely to the pleasures of the table, he 
was severe toward his enemies. He was put to death while preparing 
to meet Vespasian, who had been proclaimed emperor by the Syrian 
army. Thus in the space of a single year, Rome had seen three 
monarchs elected by the respective armies of Italy, the Rhine, and 
Spain, and who all met with violent deaths. 

10. Vespasian was declared emperor by the soldiers whom he was 
leading against the Jews, a. d. 69. This people, excited by false pro 
phets and oppressed by the severity of their governors, broke out into 
open revolt. In other parts of the empire the peace was similarly dis- 
turbed ; blood was shed in the streets of Rome in civil tumult; the 
splendid temple of Jupiter on the Capitol was consumed by fire ; Gaul 
was in rebellion ; the frontiers were threatened by the Germans on the 
Rhine, and by the Parthians on the Euphrates. Vespasian restored 
peace to the world, and during nine years used his extensive power with 



* It is a remarkable circumstance that Nero's memory was Ion? cherished among the 
lower classes. During many years his tomb was decorated with flowers. His death was 
considered a fabrication, and no less than three false Neros appeared in the East. At 
the close of the third and fourth centuries, it was a popular belief that he would appear 
at the end of the world as Antichrist. 



128 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

moderation. Under his orders the Jewish war was terminated ; and his 
son Titus, whom he had left at the head of the army, utterly destroyed 
the people of Jerusalem after an obstinate resistance, and rased the city 
to the ground. A medal was struck commemorative of the event, bear- 
ing on one side a veiled female figure sitting under a palm-tree, with 
the inscription Judaea Capta. Vespasian died in the midst of many 
valuable reforms, and left the empire to the conqueror of the Jews. 

11. Titus, a. d. 79-81, called The Delight of Mankind, from his 
amiable and generous disposition, enjoyed a reign of only two years, 
which was marked by calamities. He was compelled to quit Berenice, 
a Jewish princess whom he tenderly loved ; a great part of Rome was 
consumed by fire ; this was followed by a raging pestilence; and an 
eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the towns of Herculaneum, Pompeii, 
and Stabiae beneath showers of ashes, August 24, a. d. 79. 

12. Domitian, a. d. 81-96, who succeeded his brother, manifested the 
disposition of Nero. He embellished the city with magnificent build- 
ings, and engaged in useless and unsuccessful wars ; South Britain was 
however subdued in his reign by Agricola, 85, whose death he is said 
to have occasioned. He banished literary men from Rome, degraded 
the senate, and persecuted all who were noble and good. He arrogated 
divine honours to himself, put to death many men of rank for the most 
trifling causes, and at last fell by an assassin's dagger, a. d. 96. Thus 
perished the last of the twelve Caesars, of whom only four deserve the 
respect of posterity : Julius, Augustus, Vespasian, and Titus. 

Gibbon thus characterizes the unworthy successors of Augustus : — 
" Their unparalleled vices, and the splendid theatre on which they were 
acted, have saved them from oblivion. The dark, unrelenting Tiberius, 
the furious Caligula, the feeble Claudius, the profligate and cruel Nero, 
the beastly Vitellius, and the timid, inhuman Domitian, are condemned 
to everlasting infamy. During fourscore years (excepting only the 
short and doubtful respite of Vespasian's reign), Rome groaned beneath 
an unremitting tyranny, which exterminated the ancient families of the 
republic, and was fatal to almost every virtue and every talent that 
arose in that unhappy period." 

JUDJEA. 

Archelaus succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Herod, 
3 b. c, but his administration was so despotic and unpopular, that he 
was deposed and banished to Vienne in Gaul, a. d. 8, when Judaea 
became a Roman province, dependent on the prefecture of Syria, under 
the procurator Coponius. On one occasion this cruel monarch caused 
3000 citizens to be massacred in the Temple. Pontius Pilate, who was 
governor from a. d. 26 to 36, was a man of stern and inflexible temper, 
utterly disregarding the religious feelings of the people. Twice he 
nearly caused a revolt by introducing into the city the Roman ensigns, 
on which were the images of the emperor, and by the consecration of 
the golden bucklers in the palace of Herod. The yart vvhioh he took 
in the condemnation of our Lord is too well known to icquire comment. 
He was soon afterwards recalled, and banished to Vi^/ine, where he is 
said to have perished by his own hand, a. d. 38. 



FIRST CENTURY A. D. 



129 



to o 



o S 

• w — 

CO 3 

■+.0 

.° 5 — 






cr go 






^ CD ft 



*P 

^ 3' 
3 p to 

i ■+ 



o 



O 

p c 

s > ■ 

at} • 



-«■?. 



63 J 



IP 



i(fc 



i> CD 

t) «1 > 
c*ffl 



3^ 

■ w 

• m 

CD ^-j 

5 M 

p !*f 

• o 



F 
3! a 

09 
I* 

2 o 

< a 



>*% 



II II II 



• > 

p'3 



a 

CD 

S 3 

• p 

_>3. 
rag 

§.+ 

3 ?" 



w 1 



s> 3/ 


o 


• p 


» t- 1 


a a — 


s > 


• 3 


fo • cl 


""' 


>*"! 


to 


— ^ §s 




•5" 8 -+ 




|.S> 


3 -<-0 
" > a 


P £/a 


!2!b p — 


p 

* Oi 


o ■ <J 




3^5" J 





CO £> 



S to 

CD CO 



O^ O 3 

3 a> 3 



p o 



■* -+ 



Q 
ft 
tej 
fed 
t> 

O 

2 

1 ^ 

O H 
ffl t> 

P ►-> 

i? • ^ 

*s fed 



- P J 



c » 

2^ W 



130 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Herod Agrippa. — The Jewish kingdom was again reconstructed from 
its several tetrarchies by Claudius, and bestowed upon Herod Agrippa, 
grandson of Herod the Great, a. d. 41. Educated at Rome, he was the 
friend of the Emperors Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius ; and after 
many years, full of the most striking vicissitudes of fortune, he became 
one of the greatest princes of the East, and governed the Jews three 
years in such a manner as to become extremely popular. His death, 
which was sudden, may be ascribed to the immediate judgment of God 
for his impiety* On a day of festival, when he appeared in the theatre 
of Cffisarea, the brilliant light of the sun glancing on nis silver robes 
struck the people with admiration. Fawning parasites addressed him 
as a god : — "Be thou merciful unto us, for although we have hitherto 
received thee only as a man, yet henceforth we shall regard thee as 
superior to mortal nature." He neither rebuked nor rejected this impi- 
ous flattery, when he was immediately smitten with violent pains in his 
bowels. Turning to his attendants, he cried, " Behold your god is now 
condemned to die!" Five days he lingered in the most excruciating 
tortures, when he expired, having attained only the fifty-fourth year of 
his age, and the seventh of his reign as tetrarch of Galilee. Under the 
frequent change of governors and prefects, the Jews experienced alter- 
nate changes of gentleness and severity. False Messiahs appeared on 
every side, and a ferocious sect arose, which, adopting tne opinions of 
Judas the Gaulonite, put itself in open hostility to the Roman govern- 
ment. Under Claudius Felix, who trembled at the simple truths uttered 
by St. Paul, the country began to be filled with robbers and murderers. 
Gessius Florus, a. d. G4, the worst of the Roman governors, was tyran- 
nical, cruel, and insatiably avaricious. He murdered 3000 people in 
Jerusalem, 20,000 at Csesarea, 2000 at Ptolemais, and 2500 at Ascalon- 
but when he carried his insolence so far as to attempt to enter the tem- 
ple with his soldiers, the whole inhabitants rose in arms against him. 
The nation was unfortunately divided into two parties, one proposing 
submission, the other desirous to continue the revolt. The country now 
became a scene of bloodshed, and the flame of insurrection spread to 
Syria, Egypt, and the neighbouring states. Cestius Gallus, prefect of 
Syria, who endeavoured to recover the capital, was defeated with great 
loss. The Christians, remembering the prophecy of Christ, took ad- 
vantage of the retreat of the Roman army, and withdrew to Pella, 
beyond the Jordan, where they lived in peace, free from the horrors of 
the war raging around the holy city. 

Destruction of Jerusalem, a. d. 70. — Ananus, or Annas, the high 
priest, was raised to the civil command of Jerusalem, and the historian 
Josephus was at the head of the armies of Galilee and Gamala. Ves- 
pasian was sent with 60,000 men to crush the rebellion, a. d. 67. After 
subduing the revolted provinces, he was spreading his toils around the 
devoted city, when, as already noticed, he was elected emperor, a. d. 69 ; 
and departing for Rome, left his son Titus to continue the campaign. 
The Jews had neglected to profit by this season of delay. The ravages 
of war without were far less fatal than the murderous rage of the fac- 
tions within the walls. " The holy city had become the nest of all 
uncleanness, a horrid den of robbers, and a hateful cave of murderers." 
Eleazar, with a band of Zealots (a horde of robbers who had assumed 
the name without the principles of the sect), possessed the inner court 



FIRST CENTURY A.D. 131 

of the Temple ; while John of Gischala, who had obstinately resisted 
.he Romans in Galilee, occupied the rest of the building, now converted 
into a fortress. When Titus advanced to the siege, Jerusalem was 
crowded with people from all quarters, who had come up to celebrate 
the passover ; and they soon became a prey to the most horrible famine 
recorded in history, so that vermin, grass, and leather, were held a 
luxury, and sold at a high price. From the middle of April to the first 
of July, not fewer than 115,880 dead bodies were flung out at one gate 
of the city ; the whole number thus disposed of is reckoned at 600,000; 
and after an unexampled siege of six months, the city was reduced, a. 
d. 70. " The destruction of Jerusalem exceeded all which God or man 
ever brought upon the world." Exclusive of those who perished in 
caves and woods, and in the vaults of Jerusalem, 1,364,000 are com- 
puted by Lipsius to have fallen in the war ; 97,000 were taken prison- 
ers ; and 11,000 sullenly starved themselves to death. Titus, we are 
told, called God to witness that he was not the author of their calami- 
ties. In perusing the melancholy details of Josephus, it is impossible 
to resist the conviction, that in these awful transactions the hand of the 
Almighty was punishing a guilty people, and requiring from them the 
righteous blood of Christ, which they had invoked upon their heads, 
crying — " His blood be on us, and on our children !" 

Read : Milman's History of the Jews ; Huie's History of the Jews. 

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

The Messiah. — During a season of profound peace, in the reign of 
Augustus, when there was a general expectation that some great per- 
sonage was about to appear, the time arrived for the redemption of the 
human race, — promised at the fall of man, predicted by all the prophets, 
typified by all the ceremonies of the ancient law, and earnestly desired 
by all just men. In the " fulness of time" Jesus Christ was born at 
Bethlehem. He escaped from the murderous rage of Herod, and for 
nearly thirty years lived an obscure life at Nazareth. At length, enter- 
ing on his public ministry, he began to teach, in the reign of Tiberius, 
throughout all Judaea, confirming his divine mission by the purity of his 
life, the sublimity of his doctrines, and his miraculous powers. The 
Jews, who had looked for an earthly conqueror, refused to listen to the 
lowly Galilean, and procured his condemnation and execution as a 
criminal, 3d April, a. d. 30. 

After the resurrection and ascension of our Saviour, the Christian 
religion spread rapidly under the ministry of the apostles and their con- 
verts. They preached throughout all the Roman empire the sublime 
truths revealed to them by their divine Master, and established churches 
in three quarters of the world. The name of Christian was first used 
at Antioch, a. d. 40. The four gospels contain the history of the Re- 
deemer's life and doctrines, and were written in the order in which they 
stand, between a. d. 37 and 98. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH. 

The first Christian societies or churches were formed, as far as circumstances 
would permit, on the model of the synagogue, were governed by deacons, and 
sometimes deaconesses, who were charged with the distribution of alms; elders 



132 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

(presbyters or priests) exercised a right of censure over private individuals, bm 
their functions originally were not connected with religious instructions ; and 
bishops (episcopi, overseers), the associates in the labours and the successors of 
the apostles. The bishop administered the sacraments and maintained the dis- 
cipline of the church, superintended the daily increasing religious ceremonies, 
directed the funds, and arbitrated in the disputes of the faithful.* 

Persecution forced the different communities to unite each round the nearest 
centre, generally some populous and neighbouring town ; such was the origin 
of a diocese. The same necessity compelled the bishops of the country towns 
to unite with the capital of the province, and thus a metropolis was formed. 
This institution confirmed a custom which dates from the end of the second 
2entury, that of synods or councils, provincial meetings held in spring and 
autumn. 

First Persecution, a. d. 64. — The progress of the new doctrines 
brought down upon their professors the rage of the Jews and the cruel 
torments of Nero. The year a. d. 64 was an eventful epoch in the 
Christian Church. The dreadful conflagration which threatened with 
ruin the Eternal City was considered as the judgment of offended 
deities, to appease whom the followers of the Christian religion were 
exposed to the severest tortures. " Some of them (says the pagan Taci- 
tus) were covered over with the skins of wild beasts, that they might 
be torn to pieces by dogs ; some were crucified, while others, having 
been daubed over with combustible materials, were set up for lights in 
the night-time, and thus burnt to death." The apostles Peter and Paul 
suffered martyrdom in this persecution, which appears to have been 
principally confined to the capital, where the latter of these faithful men 
became the victim of imperial rage."j" 

Second Persecution. — For nearly 30 years after the death of Nero, 
the Christians were allowed to live undisturbed ; and their numbers had 
multiplied considerably, when the gloomy tyrant Domitian began the. 
second persecution, a. d. 95. It is probable that the emperor acted 
through fear, since there is a singular story related of an edict issued by 
him fc the extermination of the whole family of David. Some de- 
scendants of our Lord's brethren still survived, and were brought before 
the tribunal of the procurator of Judaea, but, after examination, they 
were dismissed as too humble to be dangerous to the authority of Rome. 
The apprehensions of Domitian were aroused by the appearance of 
danger from a nearer quarter. One of his cousins-german, the consul 
Flavius Clemens, being suddenly accused of atheism and Jewish man- 
ners, the common charge against Christians, was put to death, and his 
wife, Domitilla, the emperor's niece, was banished. Tertullian relates 
that St. John was miraculously delivered unhurt from a vessel of flaming 
oil, into which he had been cast by the orders of the tyrant. He war, 
afterwards banished to the isle of Patmos, on the western coast of Asia 
Minor, where he committed to writing his sublime Book of Revelation. 

*The apostolic succession of the bishops appfars to be undeniable, but the extent ami 
nature of their authority are altogether uncertain. It should, moreover, be observed that 
the term " successors of the apostles" can be applied to them in a very limited significa- 
tion only. 

t Count Stolberg, a Romanist writer, brings Peter to Rome at the beginning of Nero'a 
reign, but denies that the apostle founded the Christian church in that city. It is, how- 
ever, more than questionable if St. Peter ever was at Rome. Lightfoot positively asserts 
that he lived and died in Chaldaea. Milman endeavours to reconcile testimony and tra- 
dition by the theory of two churches, a Petrine and a Pauline, a Judaising and a Hel« 
lenising community. 



FIRST CENTURY A. D. [ 33 

Ten great persecutions of the early Christian church are recorded l>y nisto- 
rians ; we shall treat of them as they occur, but it may be convenient to arrange 
their epochs together : — 

D. 106, under Trajan. 

d. 166, under Marcus Aurelius. 

d. 202, under Severus. 

d. 235, under Maximin. 

d. 250, under Decius. 

d. 258, under Valerian. 

d. 272, under Aurelian. 



3d Persecution, a. 
4th Persecution, a. 
5th Persecution, a. 
6th Persecution, a. 
7th Persecution, a. 
8th Persecution, a. 
9th Persecution, a. 
10th Persecution, a. d. 303, under Diocletian and Maximian. 

Read : Milman's Hist, of Christianity ; Milner's Hist, of the Church of Christ 



TABLE OF THE PERSECUTIONS. 



No. of 
Perse- 
cution. 


Year. 


In what 
Countries. 


Name of Emperor, 
&c. 


Principal Sufferers, and 
when. 













BRITAIN. 

In the years 55 and 54 b. c, Julius Caesar invaded this island, but his 
two campaigns were indecisive, and the country maintained its inde- 
pendence until a. d. 43, when the Emperor Claudius in person, and 
afterwards the generals Plautius and Vespasian, compelled various 
tribes to acknowledge the majesty of Rome. The last of these com- 
manders fought thirty battles before he could subdue the inhabitants, 
and Caractacus opposed Plautius during five years with varying suc- 
cess. This brave chief of the Silures being without allies, his army 
was at last defeated with great slaughter, and he himself taken prisoner 
and carried to Rome. Suetonius endeavoured to destroy the Druids 
who had taken refuge in the isle of Anglesey, and quelled a formidable 
insurrection headed by the celebrated Boadicea, a. d. 61, which cost the 
lives of 150,000 men. In the course of seven years, 78-85, the power 
of the empire was firmly established by Agricola : he subdued the 
natives as far north as the Forth, and also defeated Galgacus and his 
Caledonians at the foot of their native Grampians. Rutilius has said, 
with equal beauty and truth, that Rome embraced the whole world in 
her legislative triumphs, causing all to live under a common bond ; that 
she blended discordant nations into one; and that, by offering to the 
conquered a full companionship in her privileges, she made the earth 
one united city. With these principles Agricola endeavoured to civilize 
the island, by inspiring the barbarians with a love of letters, and by the 
introduction of the Roman dress, language, and luxurious manners. 
Four legions were stationed in Britain, and as many great roads facili- 
tated the communication between distant points. 

The most ancient inhabitants of the country appear to have been the 
Cymry, from whom the Welsh are descended ; and these were followed 
12 



134 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

by colonies of Celts from Gaul, being themselves, like the first settlers, 
of Cimmerian origin. But not by rude emigrants alone was the island 
visited, for the Phoenicians, and after them the Carthaginians, frequented 
its south-western shores in search of tin. Numerous tribes, of which 
forty-five have been designated, were spread over its surface ; and the 
Belgae, a people of Gothic origin, occupied the south-eastern coast. 
They all lived in such a state of primitive simplicity as might be wit- 
nessed at present in the woods of North America, or in New Zealand. 
Their food was milk and flesh, skins their clothing, and to strike terror 
into their enemies in battle the exposed limbs were stained blue. Their 
houses were constructed of timber and reeds ; their towns were situated 
in the depths of forests, the access to which was protected by ditches 
and barriers of trees. Money was little used, and was commonly rings 
of iron or copper of a certain weight. Their army was chiefly composed 
of infantry ; but, like the heroes of the Trojan war, their chiefs fought 
from chariots armed with scythes. Their religion was that of the fierce 
and sanguinary Druids ; a system which is said to have originated in 
Britain, whence it was introduced into Gaul. Its principal doctrines 
were the immortality and transmigration of souls ; its chief maxims — to 
worship the gods, to do no evil, and to behave heroically. To appease, 
by cruel rites, their offended deities, huge images of wickerwork were 
filled with human victims, who were burned alive, and from their 
quivering limbs the priests predicted future events. The mistletoe, 
wherever it was found upon the oak, itself a sacred tree, was cut with 
great ceremony, and used as a charm to cause fecundity or to counteract 
poison. The Druidical order was divided into three classes: 1. The 
Druids, who were their dignitaries ; 2. The Bards, poets or musicians ; 
and, 3. The Ouates, the lowest rank of sacrificers and diviners. Of their 
monuments we have no remains, unless we consider as such the remark- 
able ruins of Stonehenge and Abury. 

Read : Turner's Anglo-Saxons, book i. chap. iv. 



SECOND CENTURY. 



Rome.— 96, Nerva.— 98, Trajan.— 117, Adrian.— 138-180, The Antonines.— 

180, Commodus. — 193, Didius Julianus. 
The Church. — Third and Fourth Persecutions. 
Discoveries. — Astronomical System of Ptolemy. 
Literature, &c. — Lucian ; Ptolemy ; Justin Martyr ; Apuleius ; Suetonius ; 

Florus ; Justin ; Symmachus ; — The Tar gum and Mischnah.* 

ROME. 

The Five Good Emperors. — Nerva, a. d. 96-98, began his short 
but happy reign by the diminution of taxes. He was of Cretan extrac- 
tion, and elected by the senate at the age of sixty-five to support the 

* The Targum is a Chaldee paraphrase of the five books of Moses by Onkelos : its date 
is uncertain. The Mischnah is a compilation of traditional Jewish laws by Rabbi Jndah ; 
its commentary, the Oemarah, is divided into two parts, viz. 1st , The Talmud of Jerusa- 
lem, compiled in the third century; and 2d, The Talmud of Babylon, compiled in the 



SECOND CENTURY A. D. 135 

.state already inclining to its fall. Alarmed at the insurrections excited 
by his reforms, he adopted the valiant Trajan, then commanding the 
armies of Lower Germany, a Spaniard by birth, though of Roman 
descent. The news of his elevation at once quieted all dissensions, and 
his soldiers, when he returned to Rome as emperor, after the death of 
Nerva, were never known to give cause for complaint by their insolence 
or irregularity. Trajan's palace was open to all, and with the studied 
modesty of Augustus he visited among his former friends like a private 
citizen. He introduced order and economy into the imperial household, 
constructed numerous public monuments, and also formed that great 
road which traversed the empire from Gaul to the Euxine Sea. These 
and other peaceful cares did not prevent him from watching the bar- 
barous nations already hovering on the Roman frontiers. He attacked 
the Dacians, and notwithstanding the skilful tactics of their chief Dece- 
balus, drove them by repeated defeats to their capital, the ruins of which 
may still be seen in Transylvania, and compelled them to purchase 
peace, a. d. 103. The war was next transferred to the Euphrates, and 
Trajan penetrated into Armenia, w T hich he mastered, threatened Parthia, 
and advanced to the Tigris, always marching on foot at the head of his 
troops. In another expedition he reached the shores of the Indian 
Ocean, sighing that his age prevented him from imitating the exploits 
of Alexander. While he was thus engaged in distant expeditions, a 
horrible revolt broke out at home. In Gyrene, Cyprus, and Egypt, the 
Jews rose and murc'ered all the Romans they could discover, inflicting 
on them the most frightful tortures. Some were sawn asunder ; others 
torn to pieces by heated pincers ; and, if we may credit the historians, 
the murderers even devoured the flesh of their victims. In the midst of 
these events Trajan died, lamenting that his labours for the public good 
had proved so ineffectual. He was just and upright in his conduct both 
public and private, and his warlike reign, by exciting in the barbarous 
nations a sense of Roman vigour, was eminently useful to the empire. 
His persecution of the Christians is a great blot on his character. 
Though his life came to a close in Cilicia, his body was conveyed to 
Rome, and over his tomb was raised the lofty column which still bears 
his name. For nearly three centuries after his death it w r as usual to 
salute each new emperor with a prayer that he might be more fortunate 
than Augustus, and more virtuous than Trajan. 

Adrian, a.d. 117-138, was in many respects unequal to his great 
predecessor. Relinquishing the conquests of Trajan, he wisely reduced 
the empire to the limits sanctioned by the wisdom of Augustus — to the 
barriers formed by the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean. 
He travelled through all his dominions to investigate and remedy more 
promptly the disorders which prevailed. He settled a colony at Jeru- 
salem, rebuilt the walls of that city, and called it JElia Capitolina. 
Many useful reforms were introduced by him ; the annual laws of the 
prsetors were replaced by a perpetual edict, so that the principles of the 
administration of justice no longer varied with each year. The condi- 

fifth century.— While speaking of eastern writings we may here observe, that the Saron- 
tala (translated hy Sir W. Jones with the title of the Fatal Ring), and various other 
Indian dramas and poems by Calidas, belong to this century. Of greater but uncertain 
antiquity are the U-Kinsr of the Chinese ; the Vedas or sacred books of the Hindoos : the 
Maku-bltilrata, the great Hindoo epic ; and the Sanscrit Puranus. 






136 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

tion of the slaves was also greatly ameliorated ; their masters were no 
longer allowed to exercise an absolute power of life and death over 
them, and the private prisons were closed. An insurrection, which 
broke out under the impostor Barchochebas, who announced that he was 
the Messiah, was, after two years, extinguished in the blood of many 
thousand Jews, 135. The latter portion of Adrian's reign was darkened 
by the murder of persons suspected of conspiring against him, and he 
died of a lingering disease, repeating Plato's well-known lines on the 
nature of the soul. 

Antoninus Pius, a. d. 138—161, the second Numa, the father of his 
country, was a rare combination of virtue and philosophy. His pacilic 
government of twenty-three years is marked by no striking events, the 
storms and tempests of nature alone attracting the notice of the histo- 
rian. * By one celebrated edict he declared all the free inhabitants of 
the empire to be citizens of Rome, — a measure originating as much in 
political prudence as in a philosophic love of liberty, for they thereby 
became liable to taxes from which as provincials they were exempted. 

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a. d. 161-180, surnamed the Philoso- 
pher, was prevented from treading in the tranquil steps of his predecessor 
by disturbances on the German and Syrian frontiers. The Parihians 
were driven back with great loss by his colleague Verus, 165 ; and he 
himself defeated the Sarmatians, the Quadi, and the Marco manni, a. d. 
174. Famine and the plague desolated several provinces during this 
reign. The Tiber rose above its banks and swept away all the public 
granaries situate near it, the loss of which caused the most melancholy 
sufferings. Britain and Belgium were in confusion ; three legions were 
cut off in the East ; the victorious army on its return from the Euphrates 
brought with it a pestilence which ravaged the whole empire to the 
shores of the Atlantic, and the city of Rome in particular, so that the 
dead bodies were carried out promiscuously in wagons. The want of 
food aggravated the previous miseries; fresh wars broke out simul- 
taneously on all sides, to supply troops for which even the gladiators 
were enrolled in the legions. The attacks of the barbarians of the north 
upon the frontier, during this reign, were the first symptom of that great 
migration of the fierce tribes from the neighbourhood of the Caspian, 
who ultimately overran the fairest provinces of the empire. 

Commodus, at the death, of his father Aurelius, was actively engaged 
on the banks of the Danube ; but growing weary of a military life, he 
concluded a hasty peace with the barbarians, and returning to Rome, 
abandoned the reins of government to Perennis, the head of the prae- 
torian guard, that he might better enjoy the luxuries of his station. His 
life was, however, soon endangered by the jealousy of his sister Luci lid. 
This plot was followed by another, in which the military chief endea- 
voured to dethrone his master, but was detected and executed. The 
freedman Oleander, a person of Thracian origin, being next promoted to 
the rank of favourite, carried his audacity almost to madness, inscribing 
newly manumitted slaves on the roll of the senate, and electing twenty- 
live consuls in a single year. He was put to death by the monarch to 
quiet a sedition of the populace. The mistrust and cruelty of Commo- 



* Another reason for the historical silence may be the loss of the book of Dion Cassius 
which contained the history of his reign. 



SECOND CENTURY A. D. 1 37 

dus gradually reached such an excess that he would put confidence in 
no one; and his chief delight was to descend armed into the public 
arena and contend with wild beasts, or with gladiators whose only pro- 
tection was a sword of lead. The people were so changed, that while 
the emperor declared by his edicts that his reign was the age of gold, 
Rome itself assumed the name of Colonia Commodiana. and the senate 
that of* Commodianus. At length he styled himself the son of Jupiter, 
the Roman Hercules, and on his coins assumed the name and attributes 
of this demigod. He perished by assassination, a. d. 193. 

Didius Julianus, a. d. 193. — The praetorian bands, in their camp on 
the Quirinal Hill, now decided the fate of the world. After the death 
of Pertinax, who had succeeded Commodus in 193, and whose reign 
lasted scarcely three months, they exposed the empire to public sale, 
and it was purchased by a wealthy senator, Didius, who promised a 
gratuity of more than £200 to each soldier. The people were discon- 
tented, and the legions, regretting the loss of a commander Mho had 
often led them to victory, refused to ratify the ignominious transaction. 
The three armies of Britain, Syria, and Pannonia, elected respectively 
Albinus, Niger, and Severus. The last immediately marched into Italy, 
when the reigning sovereign, being deserted by the prsetorians, was con- 
demned and executed by order of the senate, a. d. 193, after a reign of 
sixty-six days. 

The misfortunes of Aurelius and the extravagant propensities of Commodus 
had begun to weaken the empire ; still the traces of decay were not strikingly 
manifest, and in spite of them it maintained a contest with ruin during 200 years. 
The provinces were not as yet impoverished ; the cities flourished, and foreign 
and internal commerce spread the luxuries of the East over the Roman domi- 
nions. But had the nation been possessed of moral virtue also, it never would 
have submitted to the tyranny of Commodus nor to the yoke of the legions. 
The military despotism of this period was most dangerous to those who relied 
upon it. It was only by large donatives that the fidelity of the praetorian guards 
could be purchased or maintained. Severus well knew their power by the 
maxim he left to his son — to enrich the soldiers, and hold the rest for nothing. 

THE CHURCH. 

Although the spread of the Christian religion was opposed by all the 
power of the idolatrous government, churches were early founded in 
Rome, Corinth, Crete, Antioch, Asia Minor, Britain, and Spain, and the 
number of converts daily increased. It was not to be expected that so 
remarkable a change should escape the notice of the emperors, who 
providentially, by their moderation and humanity, averted the arm of 
persecution. The vigorous mind of Trajan appears to have immediately 
comprehended the nature of the struggle between the gospel and 
paganism. 

Third Persecution, a. d. 106. — From the younger Pliny, at that 
time governor of Bithynia, we have an interesting account of this per- 
secution. His letter to Trajan, a. d. 107, shows that death was imme- 
diately inflicted upon every one who was convicted of belonging to the 
Christian sect. Women were tortured to elicit a confession ; and their 
meeting at daybreak on the first day of the week, to praise God and to 
take the sacrament, was reckoned an evil practice. The new belief had 
already spread like a contagion in city and country, and the Vniples 
12* 



138 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

began to be deserted. The emperor, in his reply to this epistle, ordered 
all those who persevered in their faith to be led to execution in obedience 
to the existing laws, meaning those only who should be brought judi- 
cially before the governor. No new edict was published, and informa- 
tions against believers do not appear to have been countenanced. Adrian 
prohibited the Christian converts from being proceeded against by cla- 
morous petitions. To the Hofis with the Christians! had been a populai 
cry in the time of public shows, till it was thus checked. 

Among the sufferers in this persecution was Simeon, bishop of Jeru- 
salem. At the advanced age of 120 years, he supported the '. :uel tor- 
ment of the cross with unflinching courage. Ignatius of Antioch was 
questioned by Trajan himself, who condemned him to be exposed to 
wild beasts in the Roman amphitheatre, a. d. 110. 

The Fourth Persecution, a. d. 166, began at Smyrna. The defenders 
of the Gospel now boldly appealed to the government as well as to the 
public ; and many Jpohgies were published in its vindication. The 
most ancient of those which have reached our times is that of Justin 
Martyr, a philosopher converted at the age of thirty, and who after- 
wards sealed his testimony with his blood. Under the contemplative 
Marcus Aurelius, the persecutions were renewed with more rigour. 
The unshaken faithfulness of the sufferers excited the astonishment of 
the heathen ; and even Epictetus, the moralist, was led to ask what 
were the motives that could change selfishness into charity, and over- 
come the natural desire of life. It is a remarkable circumstance in the 
early history of the Christian faith that the reign of the wisest and most 
humane of the heathen emperors was the most fatal to it: Marcus 
" polluted every year of a long reign with innocent blood." 

But it must be observed that the position of Christianity with regard 
to Paganism was much altered. It had spread into every quarter of the 
empire, and an intimate bond of union was maintained between all the 
churches, while polytheism was becoming more philosophical under the 
teaching of a superior class of writers. Believers were found in every 
rank of society, and in all occupations ; slaves were admitted freely into 
the churches, and by that very act became manumitted. While view- 
ing the rapid progress of the new religion, the Roman people dreaded 
that the fall of the ancient worship would involve that of their power; 
and the Christians, by their interpretations of the apocalypse, appealed 
to justify such an opinion. The doctrine of the millennium, implying 
the visible throne of Christ, was still generally entertained ; and in the 
gloomy aspect of the times, the foreign and civil wars, inundations, 
earthquakes, famine, and pestilence, the affrighted citizens saw the 
anger of the avenging gods, to propitiate whom the Christians, their 
avowed enemies, once more became the victims. The principal of these 
were: — Polycarp of Smyrna, who had been the disciple of St. John, 
and was burnt alive at the age of 86; Justin Martyr, who was behead- 
ed ; and Pothinus of Lyons, who, on the verge of ninety years, died in 
prison from the ill usage he had received from the populace. One of 
the most distinguished of these sufferers was Blandina, a female slave, 
who, after undergoing the crudest tortures, was transfixed by a spear. 
From these and other judicial murders the martyrdom of Vienne has 
oecome a memorable epoch in the history of the Church. 

Read: Milman's History of Christianity, book ii. c. 7. 



THIRD CENTUEY A. D. 139 



THIRD CENTURY. 

Rome. — 193, Septimius Severus. — 211, Caracalla. — 218, Heliogabalus. — 222, 
Alexander Severus. — 235, Maximin. — The Thirty Tyrants. — 273, Aurelian 
defeats Zenobia. — 2S4, Diocletian. — The Empire invaded by Goths, Franks, 
and Germans. 

Palmyra. — Odenathus and Zenobia. 

Persia. — 226, The Sassanides. — 260, Sapor captures Valerian. 

The Church. — Persecutions. 

Literature, &c. — Dion Cassius, Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, Longinus. 

ROME. 

Septimius Severus, a. d. 193-211, who was a native of Africa, had 
risen steadily to the highest honours. In less than four years he van- 
quished his two competitors, Albinus and Niger, and defeated numerous 
armies, each of which was equal to his own. Although addicted to 
sraft and dissimulation, he did not neglect the interests of the people ; 
but. the calm of peace and prosperity was accompanied by an increased 
relaxation of military discipline. The prastorians were augmented four- 
fold, and relying upon the support of these devoted soldiers, Severus 
destroyed many of the senators and their families. Renewing the cruel- 
ties of Marius and Sylla, he put to death the wife and children of 
Albinus, — who had killed himself after an ineffectual struggle in Gaul, 
— and threw their bodies into the Tiber. He then immolated all who 
had embraced the party of his antagonist, confiscation of their property 
following in every case. Forty-one senatorial families, men, women, 
and children, fell by the hand of the executioner. The news of an 
irruption of the Caledonians into the British province hurried him again 
to the field, when a brief, yet not very successful campaign put an end 
to the war. He died at York, in the 65th year of his age, and the 18th 
of his reign, a. d. 211. 

Caracalla, a. d. 211-217, had attempted to shorten his father's life, 
and to excite a mutiny among the troops ; but the mercy shown to him 
by the emperor proved fatal to Rome. He commenced his reign by the 
murder of his brother and colleague Geta, who was slain in the arms 
of his mother. The stings of a guilty conscience urged him to acts of 
greater ferocity, and it is computed that 20,000 persons of both sexes 
perished because they were friends of that prince. Every province of 
the empire became the scene of his cruelty ; the two Gauls especially 
were ruined in order to pay his troops and purchase a cessation of hos- 
tilities from the barbarians on the frontiers. Many thousands were 
massacred at Alexandria, by the orders and under the eyes of this 
" savage beast of Ausonia." But he continued a favourite with the 
army, professing to make the great Alexander his model. At length a 
centurion of the body-guard* named Martialis stabbed him during an 
expedition against the Parthians, a. d. 217. 

* The captain of the praetorian guards became, from the time of Severus, one of the 
most important officers in the state. To his military command lie united the control 
of the finances and an extensive criminal jurisdiction. 






140 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

The brief reign of Macrinus prepared the throne for Heliogabalus, 
a. d. 218-222. This youth, whose character was stained by every kind 
of vice, had been a priest in the Temple of the Sun at Emesa in Syria. 
He brought with him to Rome all the luxury and effeminacy of Eastern 
monarchs ; his wife had a place in the senate, and slaves and eunuchs 
became first ministers. His profligate conduct raised discontents even 
among a licentious soldiery; hence he perished in a sedition of the 
guards, and his body was thrown into the Tiber, a. d. 222. The cor- 
rupt lives of the emperors had already sunk the scale of morals to a 
low degree ; but luxury and licentiousness reached their height under 
this Syrian ruler. 

Alexander Severus, a. d. 222-235, was raised by the praetorians to 
the throne at the age of 17; and under his wise and moderate adminis- 
tration the Roman world enjoyed an auspicious calm of thirteen years. 
Too young himself to rule, he left the public cares to the skill of his 
mother Mammasa, and of sixteen ancient senators, among whom was 
the famous lawyer Ulpian, to whose presence in the council we may 
attribute the greater regularity in the executive, the abolition of many 
vexatious laws, and the more legal conduct of the government. But 
this milder sway came too late ; the attempt to enforce the laws, for 
three days filled Rome with civil strife, and devastated the city with 
fire. Alexander resisted the inroads of the Germans, who had been 
tempted by the decline of the empire ; but was not equally successful 
against the Persians. His efforts to revive the military discipline of the 
republic were fatal to his life. The epithet of Severus, added to his 
name by the army, shows that the soldiers were not masters of the 
empire, as they had been under the two preceding monarchs. He 
proved a feeble support to the declining city ; but the fierce barbarians 
of the North and East were more than a match for the Roman legion- 
aries ; in Persia his armies met only with partial success, and on the 
Rhine peace was procured by money rather than by the sword. In the 
meanwhile, the spread of a new religion was uprooting the foundations 
of polytheism and the state of society founded upon it. 

Maximin, a. d. 235-238, a Thracian peasant, distinguished for his 
uncommon strength and valour, was elected by the army to the throne, 
left vacant by the murder of his predecessor. His mind was as uncul- 
tivated as his body was gigantic, for he could scarcely pronounce a few 
unconnected Latin words, while his dark and sanguinary career was not 
unworthy of his birth. Confiscation, exile, and death, were considered 
lenient punishments against those who excited his suspicions or his 
fears. Some were beaten to death with clubs, others were sewed up in 
the skins of animals and exposed to wild beasts. Magnus, a senator 
and 4000 of his supposed accomplices, were put to death in one day 
The province of Africa having revolted, elected the two Gordians, and 
,he choice was approved by the senate, who at the same time declared 
Maximin and his son to be public enemies. The emperor's lieutenants 
were successful over his rivals, and the senators were already anticipat- 
ing the execution of his horrible threat that he would slay them all and 
distribute their property among his soldiers, when they were relieved 
of their fears by his murder at the siege of Aquileia. The coalition of 
the opposing parties procured the elevation of an amiable youth, Gor- 
dian III., whose reign lasted six years, 238-244. He ascended the 



THIRD CENTURY A. D. 141 

throne under favourable circumstances; beloved by all good men for 
his virtues; endeared to the senate by his illustrious birth, for he was 
the grandson of the elder Gordian, and to the army from his being their 
adopted child. Aided by the superior talents of his father-in-law Misi- 
theus, he carried on a successful war against Sapor. 

Philip, the Arabian freebooter, was proclaimed emperor by the army, 
and the title of Augustus was conferred on him by the senate. He 
favoured the Christians, and granted them permission to raise temples 
and exercise their worship in public. He celebrated the secular games, 
a. d. 248 (April 21), when Rome had attained its thousandth year. — 
Decius, after a reign of two years and a half, lost his life in battle 
against the Goths, 251. — Gallus, Hostilian, Volusian, and ^Emili- 
anus, were succeeded by Valerian at the age of sixty years, 253, who 
associated Gallienus with him in the government. Marching to repel 
the aggressions of the Persian monarch, he was vanquished and made 
prisoner, a. d. 260 ; after which he suffered every indignity, till life 
sunk under the weight of shame. — Gallienus, a. d. 260-268, the luxu- 
rious son of Valerian, passed his time in the most ridiculous trifling. 
Pretenders started up in every province ; hence this period is usually 
known as that of the Thirty Tyrants, although the names of nineteen 
only are recorded. Many of these shortlived monarchs were models of 
virtue, and possessed vigour and ability; but they were chiefly of 
obscure birth, and elevated on the field of battle. Not one died a 
natural death. The servile wars were renewed in Sicily; the streets 
of Alexandria were polluted with blood ; while famine and pestilence, 
which lasted fifteen years, 250-265, ravaged every section of the Roman 
empire. Gallienus fell in a nocturnal tumult before the walls of Milan, 
in which he was besieging Aureolus, the most formidable of his rivals ; 
and the dying wishes of the emperor raised Claudius, a. d. 268, to the 
throne. By the most signal victories he delivered Italy from the Goths ; 
yet the same pestilence which had thinned the ranks of the barbarians, 
also carried off their conqueror. His short but glorious reign lasted 
only two years. — Aurelian, a. d. 270-275, the son of a Pannonian 
peasant, originally an adventurer and common soldier, repelled the 
Gothic invaders, chastised the Germans who had entered Italy, recover- 
ed Gaul, Spain, and Britain, from the usurper Tetricus, and destroyed 
the monarchy which Queen Zenobia had erected in the East on the 
ruins of the empire, 273. He died by the hands of his officers — regret- 
ted by the army, detested by the senate, but universally acknowledged 
as a wise and fortunate prince. — Tacitus, a. d. 275, owed his elevation 
to a friendly contest which had arisen between the army and the senate 
for the choice of an emperor; and he was elected by the latter from 
their own number, at the age of 75. He drove the bands of the Alani 
out of Asia with great slaughter, but sunk under the fatigues of his 
office, a. d. 276. — Florian yielded to the better fortune of Probus, a. d. 
276-282, who vanquished the Germans on the Rhine and the Danube, 
and restored peace and order to every province. To check the invasions 
of the barbarians, Probus built a stone wall nearly 200 miles in length, 
from the Danube to the Rhine ; recruited the Roman armies from the 
German nations; settled foreign colonies in various parts of the empire, 
and taught them the science of agriculture, tie perished in a mutiny 
of his troops. 



142 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

With Maximin began the race of Barbarians who successively mounted the 
imperial throne : with Claudius II. commenced what has been called the mili- 
tary despotism. However glorious the reigns of this monarch and his succes- 
sor Aurelian, they were far from healing the wounds of the state. Though 
great warriors, and men whom the circumstances of Rome required, they did 
little more than delay the fall of the empire- In the period between the Anto- 
nines and Diocletian, it was divided into two great parts, which were almost 
distinct worlds, the civil and the military. The people, the immense majority 
of the population, have no share in the history of these times ; they paid their 
taxes, cultivated the soil, and passed their lives without troubling themselves 
about the occupations of the legions. So profound was this apathy, that not a 
single revolt took place among the numerous inhabitants of the capital. But 
in the army all was changed. The soldier-citizen of the republic was unknown ; 
the ancient discipline was lost; the modern warrior had no home but his camp, 
and no respect for any authority but that of his officers. As they defended the 
empire, they claimed the right of nominating its chiefs, and of deposing them 
at will. Each army insisted upon electing an emperor, whose authority was 
to be maintained by arms and civil strife. The successful competitor was 
acknowledged by the senate, and saluted with the usual adulations. With the 
frequent alterations necessarily resulting from this military despotism, the face 
of the country varied little ; and but for the excessive contributions raised in 
the provinces to support the troops, the internal condition of the empire would 
have been very flourishing. This state of affairs continued to the time of Dio- 
cletian, who introduced some modifications, and to the days of Constantine, 
who in his turn effected many great reforms. 

Diocletian, a. d. 284-30a, who succeeded the shortlived monarchs, 
Cams, Carinus, and Numerian, was born in an obscure town of Dal- 
matia. On his elevation to the purple, a remarkable change took place 
in the form of government. Finding that the extent of frontier was 
too great to be defended by one person against the repeated attacks of 
daring and enterprising enemies, he selected a colleague in the person 
of Maximian, to whom he committed the charge of the West, while he 
retained the East. These two bore the title of Augustus, and each 
appointed a lieutenant with the title of Caesar. The seat of government 
was removed from Rome, — Maximian residing at Milan, Diocletian at 
Nicomedia, — an arrangement which contributed greatly to the support 
of the empire. Carausius, who had made himself independent in Bri- 
tain, was defeated in 293 ; Gaul was delivered from the Germans ; and 
the Persians were compelled to cede five provinces beyond the Tigris. 
After a glorious reign of twenty-one years, Diocletian abdicated the 
throne, a. d. 305, and Maximian resigned at Milan on the same day. 

The abdication of monarchs has always been matter of embarrassment to 
historians ; and the fact of a prince voluntarily divesting himself of supreme 
power, without any apparent motive, is a phenomenon well worthy of exami- 
nation. Diocletian's relinquishment of the purple has been variously explain- 
ed ; some pretending that it was in fulfilment of an oath made with Maximian 
at his ascension ; others, that he was grieved at his unsuccessful struggle against 
Christianity ; others, that he feared the troubles which he saw impending ; and 
many, that he entertained a supreme contempt for all human grandeur. The 
last two motives influenced beyond a doubt his resolution ; but his fears, and 
the threats of Galerius his son-in-law, with his inability to resist him, were the 
principal causes. At the age of sixty years he retired into private life, and 
lived esteemed and happy at Salona. His latter days were saddened by the 
exile and persecution of his wife and daughter, and the ingratitude of those 
whom he had elevated. 



THIRD CENTURY A. D. 143 



PALMYRA. 



Queen Zenobia was a Jewess by birth, the wife of Odenathus, 
prince of the Saracens of the Euphrates, who had raised himself to the 
dominion of the East, and by his victories over the Persian king avenged 
the injuries of the Romans and become their ally. On his death, hav- 
ing been cut off by domestic treason, his widow rilled the vacant throne, 
and governed Syria with great wisdom. Palmyra (lat. 34° 20' N., 
long. 38° 30' E.), her capital, the Tadmor of Solomon, was situated in 
an oasis in the midst of a vast desert of sand, on one of the great caravan 
routes to the Euphrates, and its magnificent ruins still ornament that 
portion of the wilderness. Zenobia began her reign by throwing off the 
protection of the senate and conquering Egypt. Aurelian marched 
against her, took Antioch, and in a terrible battle in its vicinity routed 
her mail-clad cavalry and skilful archers. After experiencing a second 
defeat near Emesa, she sought refuge in her capital, which was besieged 
by the emperor, and reduced after a long resistance, a. d. 273. Two 
years afterwards, the unfortunate queen was led in triumph through the 
streets of Rome. Covered with diamonds, she walked alone before her 
victor's car, a slave holding the chain of gold which had been placed on 
her neck. The name and fate of the critic Longinus both honour her 
reign and reproach her weakness, if it be true that she exposed him to 
the vengeance of Aurelian to save her own life. 

PERSIA. 

Sassanides, a. d. 226. — We have seen that Arsaces founded the Par- 
thian kingdom in the third century b. c, and that with him began the 
line of Arsacidan kings. His valour and genius gained the affections 
of his people; and his successes against the Romans often terrified the 
imperial city. The history of the several dynasties is obscure during 
470 years, till we come to the reign of Artabanus, the last of the family 
just named, when this formidable power, which had spread from India 
to Syria, was subverted by Artaxerxes (Ardeschir Babegan). He 
founded the family of the Sassanides, so called from his father Sassan, 
which governed Persia till the Arab invasion in G32. Artaxerxes was 
a distinguished soldier, driven to rebellion by royal ingratitude : three 
times he defeated the Parthians, and their monarch perished in the last 
battle. In the plain of Ormuz he was saluted by the army with the 
lofty title of King of Kings. He restored the ancient religion of the 
Magi, or Fire Worshippers, founded by Zoroaster in the seventh cen- 
tury b. c, re-established the royal authority, and began a successful war 
against the Romans, a. d. 230. His reign of fourteen years forms a 
memorable era in the history of the East and of Rome. He was suc- 
ceeded by Sapor, a man of gigantic form, inured from infancy to war, 
and who preserved the strictest discipline in his army, while he encour- 
aged agriculture as a nursery for hardy soldiers. Eagerly desirous of 
founding a powerful monarchy, he attacked the Romans, and devastated 
both sides of the Euphrates, defeating the emperor Valerian, who had 
marched against him. He next overran Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia, 
but was compelled to retreat before Odenathus, prince of Palmyra, 
a. d. 261. 



144 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Chosroes, sovereign of Armenia, who had resisted in his native 
mountains with invincible courage during thirty years, fell at last by 
the intrigues of the Persian court. The Armenian satraps immediately 
implored the help of Rome in favour of his son, the young Tiridates; 
but the imperial city being distant, Sapor soon incorporated this state 
with his vast dominions. 

Tiridates escaped from the assassins employed by the conqueror to 
murder him and his father, and was brought up among the Romans. 
After his country had borne a foreign yoke twenty-six years, he was 
invested with the monarchy of Armenia by Diocletian. His appearance 
on the frontier was welcomed with rapture ; the nobles and people flew 
to his standard ; but the Persians still maintained their ascendency, and 
it was not till a. d. 297 that the success of the Roman arms was con- 
firmed by a treaty, which established him on the throne. 

BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 

During this century, the Northern Hive, as it was called, began to 
pour down its swarms upon the Roman empire. 

The Goths, a. d. 250, passed the Danube and invaded the Roman 
provinces during the reign of the Emperor Decius. This great nation 
was of Asiatic origin, — part of the Indo-Teutonic race which had spread 
irregularly towards the north of Europe. Their migration in that direc- 
tion took place before the period of authentic history ; and when they 
first attract our notice, they form part of the Suevian branch, settled 
along the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic. Their language 
forms the connecting link between the Sanscrit and the modern Teutonic 
dialects. Their religion, preserved in the sacred books of the Eddas, 
was barbarous and sanguinary. Odin, "the Mohammed of the North," 
was at once their supreme deity and legislator. The daring invasions 
of these people met with various success, but as yet had produced no 
lasting effect. 

The province of Gaul was invaded by the Franks or Freemen, a. d. 
256, a confederation of many German tribes on the Rhine and the 
Weser.* The former river proved an imperfect barrier to their enter- 
prising spirit. At length they crossed the Pyrenees, and even in the 
fifth century the ruins of magnificent cities recorded their destructive 
hostilities. 

The Allemanni, a. d. 259, were formed at the Tencteri and Usipetre 
{IVestphali). They were well trained to fight on horseback, and from 
their renown became a centre around which gathered a multitude of 
German tribes. This united people are supposed to be included under 
the different names of Suevi, Marcomcmni, and Allemanni. Having 
invaded Gaul and Italy, they displayed their banners within sight of 
Rome ; but the vigour of the senate compelled them to retreat, though 
they returned to their own country laden with booty. 

THE CHURCH. 

So early as the end of the second century or the beginning of the 
third, the Christian faith had gradually spread to the middle and highe? 
ranks, — when broke out the 

* The tribes were these:—]. The Chauci ; 2. The Sicambri ; 3. The Attuari ; 4. Bruc 
teri : 5. The Chamavii ; fi. The Catti ; 7. The Salii and Oherusci. 



THIRD CENTURY A. D. 145 

Fifth Persecution, a. d. 202. — The Emperor Severus was at first 
not unfavourable to the believers; but probably considering; them as 
much political enemies as religious schismatics, he published his 
sanguinary edicts against them, which forbade, in a particular manner, 
all assemblies, public or private. While thus occupied, he celebrated 
the secular games, which, like most other pagan festivals, were followed 
by violent explosions of fury against the Christians. In Alexandria 
especially the persecution raged ; almost all the clergy in that city being 
massacred or compelled to flee. Origen, as yet quite young, was alone 
charged with the continuance of the sacred functions ; nor was his office 
without trouble and danger, since he was more than once on the point 
of receiving the crown of martyrdom. At Carthage, Rome, and Lyons, 
the faithful were severely afflicted ; though it should be observed that 
the traces of this persecution in the West are not distinct. 

Sixth Persecution, a. d. 235. — The church enjoyed a period of 
repose twenty-four years, but the accession of the brutal Maximin was 
the signal for new trials. A promiscuous massacre of the Christians, 
including every rank and both sexes, lasted during the whole of his reign. 

Seventh Persecution, a.d. 250. — The most formidable enemies of 
the Church were the heretics, who in the second and third centuries 
were very numerous. The Marcionites, the Manicheans, and the Arians, 
raised those important questions which long divided the Christian world, 
and are in some respects perpetuated to our times. 

Philip, the Arabian, among some writers passed for a convert, but his 
successor Decius, alarmed by the miseries of the empire and his own 
precarious station, thought that the gods would strengthen his crown if 
he restored to their deserted altars the honours which had surrounded 
them in more prosperous days. For this purpose he began a bloody 
persecution, which extended over the whole empire. Christianity had 
already gained such strength, and its partisans were so numerous, that 
the struggle between it and paganism assumed almost the appearance 
of a civil war. The old creed had still on its side the majority of the 
population, the army, and the public authorities ; but although many 
Christians apostatized, others were not wanting to seal their testimony 
with their blood, and fortify by theii courage the trembling hearts of 
their brethren. Carthage and Alexandria, in particular, were the scene 
of much suffering ; but Origen escaped, and, in the midst of cruel tor- 
tures prolonged during several days, gloried in the pains which proved 
his sincerity. 

Eighth Persecution, a. d. 258. — Valerian's persecution was brief, 
for he had begun his reign by acts of clemency, and when holding the 
office of censor, expressed his opinion that Christianity exercised a 
favourable influence on public morals. His changed conduct must be 
attributed to the sorcerer Macrianus, who had a complete mastery over 
his mind. The first edict left the community in peace, but subjected all 
nonconforming bishops to the penalty of death, as also the confiscation 
of their churches and endowments. Among the victims were St. Law- 
rence, St. Stephen, and St. Cyprian of Carthage. 

Ninth Persecution, a. d. 272. — Aurelian was arrested in his career 
— while in the act of signing an edict against the Christians — by the 
falling of a thunderbolt at his feet. But the end of his reign witnessed 
13 



146 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

many severities against the new sect in consequence of hi3 orders, and 
St. Denis of France was put to death. 

Tenth Persecution, or the Era of Martyrs, a. d. 285. — A final 
and vigorous effort was made to crush the new religion by Diocletian, 
whose wife and daughter are said to have been converted. The first 
edict against the Christians was published 24th February 303. By it 
the churches were ordered to be demolished, and the sacred books to be 
delivered up, under pain of death, and publicly burnt. All assemblies 
for religious worship were prohibited, the property of the church was 
confiscated, and its members were put beyond the protection of the law. 
In subsequent edicts he declared his intention of abolishing the name of 
Christian ; but he contributed only to its further propagation. The 
Caesar Galerius was the instigator of these cruel measures, which were 
much increased by an accidental fire that broke out in the palace at 
Nicomedia. Galerius, the most implacable enemy of Christianity, 
having been raised to the throne of the East in consequence of the 
abdication of Diocletian, the persecution was continued with unmitigated 
severity. But the fervent spirit of religion was far from yielding to this 
violent shock. The believers still assembled regularly in private meet- 
ings ; and though they were deprived of the most eminent of their body, 
their numbers preserved them from extermination. In the seventh year 
of his reign, Galerius was smitten with a loathsome disease, the lower 
region of his body being consumed by a fetid ulcer, or in the language 
of scripture, "he was eaten of worms," like Herod the Great, and, in 
later times, Philip II. of Spain. Physicians, oracles, and even the god 
of medicine himself, were applied to in vain; no remedy could diminish 
the virulence of a malady which had already reached the vitals. Ha- 
rassed by the recollection of the tortures he had inflicted, he thought to 
allay the anguish of his body by recalling the edicts against Christianity, 
and by allowing the free and public exercise of its ceremonies ; but the 
hand of death was upon him, and in a few days he expired, 311. The 
heathens themselves, it is said, were astonished at this signal interposi- 
tion of the Almighty in favour of his worshippers. In the dominions of 
Maximin the persecution was still continued, nor did it stop until shortly 
before his decease, when his people had been diminished by famine and 
pestilence, and his power was threatened by Constantine. In the death 
of this monarch also the Christians of that age beheld the finger of God, 
for he expired in the most excruciating torments, his body being con- 
sumed by an internal fire, 313. 

It is impossible to calculate the number of victims who perished in 
this persecution : a whole legion, consisting of six thousand men, are 
said to have suffered in the valleys of the Alps. 

Diocletian's fiery sword 
Work'd busy as the lightning : then was Allan tried, 
England's first martyr. 

A multitude of the believers, who took refuge among the German 
tribes, were received with kindness ; and the Goths were said to have 
been indebted to a young female captive for their first knowledge of the 
gospel. 

Read: Milman's History of Christianity, book ii. c. 9. 



FOURTH CENTURY A. D. 147 



FOURTH CENTURY. 

Rome. — 306, Constantine. — 330, Constantinople. — 361, Julian. — 364, Division 

of the Empire between Valens and Valentinian. — 378, Battle of Adrianople. 

— 379, Theodosius the Great. — 391, Eugenius, Emperor. 
The Church. — Establishment of Christianity. — 318, Arian Heresy. — 325, Ni- 

cene Council. — 390, Theodosius prohibits Paganism. 
Inventions. — 385, Saddles. — 398, Aerometers by Hypatia. — 400, Gothic 

Architecture (?). 
Literature, &c. — Eusebius, Chrysostom, — L. Lactantius, Augustin, — 

Claudian. 

ROME. 

Constantine, a. d. 306. — After the abdication of Diocletian, Con- 
stant us and Galerius ascended the vacated thrones; the former govern- 
ing, under his new title of emperor, the provinces of Gaul, Spain, and 
Britain; the latter retaining those of the East. Two new Caesars were 
•appointed, Maximin and Severus ; and according to the arrangement of 
Diocletian, the latter should have recognised the authority of the Em- 
peror of the West. But he was entirely devoted to Galerius, who, 
reserving for himself the countries lying between Italy and Syria, 
exerted an equal influence over him and Maxirriin, and by their means 
became master of nearly three-fourths of the empire. 

Constantine, the son of Constantius, w r as a Dacian by birth, and had 
attained eighteen years when his father was nominated Caesar. He did 
not immediately profit by this elevation, but followed Diocletian and 
signalized himself in the Egyptain wars, in which, besides rising to the 
station of tribune of the first order, he so far enjoyed the good will of 
the army as to excite the jealousy of Galerius. Proceeding to Britain, 
he rejoined his father, on whose death at York, in 306, he was pro- 
claimed Augustus by the soldiers, which title however was not confirmed 
by the emperor, but that of Caesar substituted, with full authority over 
all the transalpine provinces. Shortly after the elevation of Constantine, 
an insurrection broke out in Rome on the imposition of additional taxes; 
when, encouraged by the connivance of the senate and the weakness of 
the civic guards, the populace elected Maxentius, the son of Maximian, 
in place of the absent Galerius, almost without opposition. This change 
drew the father from his retreat to aid Maxentius, by his counsels, and 
thereby to strengthen his party. Severus, w T ho wished to assert the 
authority of Galerius, was besieged in Ravenna, and soon afterwards 
suffered death ; and the latter was forthwith compelled to retire from 
Italy, which he had unsuccessfully invaded. Licinius was now elevated 
to the rank of Augustus, with the government of Illyria, while Maximin, 
envious of those new honours, assumed the same dignity in Africa, 
when was seen the strange circumstance of six emperors presiding at 
once over the Roman world.* Maximian was the first to lose the title, 
his son being unwilling to see the exercise of power controlled by his 
father. Galerius passed his time in useful improvements throughout his 



* Maximian, Maxentius, Maximin, Licinius, Galerius, and Constantine. 



1 48 AHCIEWT IIISTOHY. 

dominions, having wisely abandoned the design of uniting the empire 
in his own hands; but scarcely had he expired when the two emperors, 
whom he had invested with the purple, shared his territory; the pro- 
vinces of Asia falling: to Maximin, and those of Europe augmenting the 
government of Lieihius. Maxentius, who had been raised to the purple 
by the zeal of the senate and people, soon forgot how he had obtained 
wn, and conducted himself even in Rome, in a tyrannical 
r. His cruelty was especially manifested after the fall of the 
usurper, Alexander, who, having revolted in Africa, was speedily van- 
quished. That province was mercilessly ravaged, in punishment for 
the insurrection, and at home the emperor's exactions and unjust con- 
demnations were greatly multiplied. Constantine freed Italy from this 
despot, whom he defeated at the gates of the capital, and who was 
drowned in the Tiber as he fled from the field of battle, 312.* 

The conqueror entered Rome amid the acclamations of the people and 
senate, who assigned him by decree the first place among the Jiugmti. 
Some time after, Licinius, his ally, added new provinces to those he 
already possessed. Having been attacked by Maximin during the 
winter of 313, the promptitude and superior skill of Licinius gave him 
the advantage ; and his enemy, who was defeated, gained more cele- 
brity by the swiftness of his flight than by his courage in the field. 
Twenty-four hours after his discomfiture, Maximin was seen pale and 
trembling, and stripped of his imperial ornaments, at Nicomedia, about 
one hundred and fifty miles from the scene of his ruin. Licinius did 
not imitate Constantine in the use he made of his victory, but stained it 
by putting to death men, women, and children, partisans cf the van- 
quished prince. The Roman people now had but two masters ; yet 
from the disposition of each it was not possible that there could be any 
rest until one should be destroyed. Constantine was young, active, and 
ambitious, and would not have waited for an opportunity to begin the 
war, even had not the other afforded one by engaging in a conspiracy 
against him. Two battles lost at Cibalae and Mardia compelled 
Licinius to yield five provinces, and to be satisfied with Thrace and the 
East, allowing Illyria to pass over to the victor, 314. Nine years after, 
he was entirely deprived of his power and banished to Thessalonica, 
where he was put to death ; and his rival who had publicly embraced 
Christianity ten years before, became sole master of the empire, 323. 
After his victory, the successful monarch had to contend against the 
Goths and Sarmatians, the former of whom were bound to furnish a body 
of 40,000 auxiliaries. But one of the most important results of this 
reign was the foundation of a new capital. A Christian court might 
seem to be misplaced in Pagan Rome, besides which the necessity of 
strengthening the frontiers against the Goths and Persians, while it made 
some change necessary, seemed to indicate the position of Con- 
stantinople. 

The latter part of the life of Constantine was unhappy : his son 
Crispus was put to death on the accusation of his step-mother Fausta, 
who was herself not long after convicted of adultery and suffocated in a 



* While Constantine was marching to Rome, previous to the decisive battle just 
mentioned, a cross is said to have appeared in the heavens at noon-day, on which was 
the inscription, In hoc signo vinees. In commemoration of this event, the cross or 
labarum became the sacred standard of the army. 



FOURTH CENTURY A. D. 149 

bath. Two years before his demise the monarch divided the empire 
among his three sons, Constantine II., Constantius, and Constans. 
His two nephews Dalmatius and Annibalianus, received, the former 
the rank of Csesar, the latter a great part of Asia Minor, with the title 
of king-. A short time afterwards, Sapor II., king of Persia, sent to 
demand of the emperor the provinces which Narses had ceded to Dio- 
cletian. The Roman sovereign replied that he would bear his own 
answer, and vvns in the midst of his preparations for war when he fell 
ill at Nicomedia, and died after receiving baptism by the hands of the 
Arian bishop Eusebius, 337. 

FAMILY OF CONSTANTINE. 

Constantius I., Chlorus, f 3UC. 

m. 1. Helena. 2. Theodora. 



Constantine I. the Great, Constantia. Jul. Constantius. Annibalianus. 

t 337, m. 1. Minervina. 



2. Fausta. Val. Licinius, \\ \\ Dalmatius, Anniba- 

Galla. Basilina. Caesar, lianus. 



1 2 , ^ , | | f339. |338. 

Crispus, Constantine, II., Fl. Val. Lici- Gallus, Julian, 

t 326. f 340. nius, | 326. f 354. t 363. 
Constantius II., 

tail. 

Constans, f 350. 

Imperial Administration. 

Constantine was the founder of a new order of things, which Diocletian had 
endeavoured, although imperfectly, to establish before him : for the previous 
military despotism he substituted that of the court and of a numerous hierarchy. 
Henceforward all ambition found a place around the sovereign ; and the gene- 
rals no longer saw an open path by which any of them might advance to the 
imperial title. The former state of things, which had given rise to so many re- 
volts, was altered : step by step each of the commanders might rise to the foot of 
the throne, but the power of an hereditary principle checked his farther progress. 
Besides the court, there was a sacred body of men everywhere present, guiding 
and influencing all minds. Since the year 313, Constantine had embraced the 
true faith ; but as the church had long previously possessed its hierarchy, he did 
little more than consecrate and sanction its organization. 

In the regulation of the court the plan of Diocletian was closely followed. 
The sovereign was no longer visible to his subjects, and access to him was 
allowed only after a troublesome ceremonial. Below the seven domestics of 
the court, or rather the great officers of the state, were four classes of nobility, 
all exempt from the various taxes, except that imposed on land, which was 
paid by every one, even the emperor. Under the superior generals of the army 
were the counts and dukes ; the legions were reduced from G0OO to 1500 men, 
and the whole army was classed in three divisions, — household troops, garri- 
sons for the wealthy cities of the empire, and frontier guards, all of whom were 
more or less exempted from taxation. But these soldiers were now entirely 
mercenary ; a law of Diocletian expressly forbidding the enlistment of any man 
possessed of twenty-five acres of land. 

Finances. — The taxes payable by Roman citizens were — a poll-tax, a 
property-tax or census, customs or duties on merchandise imported or exported, 
varying from one-eighth to one-fortieth ad-valorem, tithes on the farming of the 
public lands, a legacy-tax, and one-twentieth on all manumissions. The public 
revenues of the empire have been calculated at nearly forty millions of our 
money. This amount varied little till the time of Constantine. or rather Dio- 
cletian, who substituted a simple and direct tax, called the Indiction, in the 
stead of all preceding contributions.* All the lands of the state, including the 

* Tnis annual tax, if not Introduced, was at least entirely regulated under Constan- 
tino, and assessed according to a register of all the landed estates. As this register was 
13* 



150 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

patrimony of the emperor, were subjected to this impost, and the least prevari 
cation in the account given in by each proprietor was punishable by death. 

The death of the emperor was the signal for internal disturbances, 
which were settled for a time by the division of his dominions among 
the three princes. Constantine, the eldest, obtained Gaul, Spain, and 
Britain; Constantius ruled over Thrace and the East; and Constans 
was the sovereign of Italy and Africa. Constantius, 337, was soon 
called to the Persian war, where he soon found himself unable to resist 
the skill and valour of Sapor. It is true he succeeded in restoring 
Chosroes, son of Tiridates to his paternal throne, but this effeminate 
prince consented, as the price of peace, to pay a heavy tribute, and re- 
store the excluded province of Atropatene. Scarcely three years had 
elapsed after the. partition of the empire, before Constantine became 
dissatisfied with his share, and crossed the Alps to attack Constans, by 
whom he was defeated and killed : his possessions were added to those 
of his conqueror who himself ten years afterwards met with a violent 
death at the hands of some of the troops of Magnentius. After the demise 
of his two brothers, Constantius was involved, by the revolutions of the 
West, in a civil contest with the usurper just named, in w r hich he was 
ultimately successful, and became sole emperor, 353. The two nephews 
of Constantine, Gallus and Julian, who, at the death of their uncle, had 
escaped from the ruin of their family, were long confined in prison, till 
the emergencies of the state invested the former with the title of Caesar, 
351. His cruelty and imprudence, together with his mean submission 
to his blood-thirsty wife Constantina, were the cause of his disgrace and 
untimely end, 354. Julian now alone survived, and was passing his 
hours in studious retirement at Athens, when he was unwillingly de- 
clared Caesar, 355, and appointed to the provinces of Gaul. His retired 
and scholastic education had not disqualified him for more active pur- 
suits. He defeated the Gauls and Franks ; made three expeditions 
beyond the Rhine; and while his victories suspended the inroads of the 
barbarians, his civil administration alleviated the distresses of the people. 
Meantime Constantius was feebly making head against the irruptions of 
Sapor ; and to quiet the seditious comparisons between himself and the 
Caesar, he ordered into the East four legions of the army of Gaul; but 
his commands were disobeyed, and the discontented soldiers proclaimed 
Julian emperor. No time was to be lost, and the new monarch, by a 
hasty march, with a small army of veteran soldiers, took possession of 
the capital a month after the death of Constantius, 361. 

Julian, surnamed the Apostate from having abandoned the Christian 
religion in which he was educated, had embraced the mythology of 
paganism, as subtilized by the New Platonic school ; but while he 
wrote against Christianity, and endeavoured to establish a reformed 
polytheism in place of the gospels, it would be unjust to deny his 
tolerant principles. In the year 3G2, desirous of proving the fallacy of 
the prophecies, he determined to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem; but 
"horrible balls of fire breaking out near the foundations, rendered the 
place inaccessible to the scorched and blasted workmen." His chief 



reviewed every fifteen years, it save rise to the Cycle oT Imlictions, which became the 
common era, beginning with the first September, a. d. 313. — To find the Indiction, adV 
3 to the given year, because Christ was born in the year answering to the fourth q( 
this cycle, and divide the sum by 15; the remainder will be the year of the Indiction. 



FOURTH CENTURY A. D. 151 

political cares were the punishment of informers, who had been the 
scourge of the previous reign, and reforming the abuses of the court, in 
which were to be seen thousands of the most useless menials. He was 
thus enabled at once to reduce the taxes by one-fifth, and to indulge in 
greater magnificence in the state ceremonials. Superstitious to excess, 
he sacrificed on every occasion, and performed with scrupulous anxiety 
the functions of sovereign pontiff. He had been scarcely six months at 
Constantinople before he set out on his Persian expedition, in which he 
was at first successful ; but, allowing himself to be misled by a deserter, 
he was surrounded by the army of Sapor, and fell mortally wounded, in 
the thirty-second year of his age, 363. 

With the accession of Julian paganism was restored throughout the whole 
extent of the Roman empire. He had been blinded by the prejudices of a mind 
too much preoccupied to perceive the luminous point to which the world was 
verging ; he erred, and to be mistaken in such a manner, when the destinies 
of a kingdom depend upon the decision of its ruler, is the greatest of misfor- 
tunes. During a reign of eighteen months, part of which was taken up with 
his expedition against the Persians, he could not effect all the good or evil that 
has been attributed to him. He does not appear to have violently opposed 
Christianity, but, on the contrary, to have allowed its followers full liberty of 
assembling, and to have permitted entire freedom of conscience. The gravest 
infraction of religious tolerance that, can be attributed to this emperor is the 
law of 362, forbidding Christians to teach the faculties of rhetoric and belles- 
lettres.* 

Jovian, a. d. 363, a fervent Christian, succeeded Julian, and by ac- 
cepting the conditions offered by Sapor, was allowed to withdraw the 
Roman army. All the conquests of Diocletian were restored, and Ar- 
menia w T as to be entirely abandoned. Eight months after, the new 
ruler was carried off by disease, and the army then assembled at Nicaea 
chose, as his successor, Valentinian, who selected Valens for his 
colleague, and the empire was divided between them. The latter 
governed the East, from the Danube to the Persian frontiers; the former 
reserving to himself the rest of the empire, from the extremity of Greece 
westward to the ocean. 

EASTERN EMPIRE. 

Valens, a. d. 364. — The government of this prince was disturbed by 
the insurrection of Procopius, 365, though the next year witnessed the 
defeat and death of the rebel. The emperor now began a violent perse- 
cution of the orthodox Christians, and the martyrdom of the venerable 
Athanasius was one of his first acts. But Valens did not neglect the 
commercial interests of his subjects, and in the first year of his reign he 
reduced the taxes one-fourth. The Persian contest still continued ; 
Sapor invaded Armenia, and the city of Artageras was taken after a siege 
of fourteen months, and a loss of nearly 17,000 lives by famine, 369. 
The conclusion of the Gothic war allowed the eastern emperor to spend 
several years at Aniioch, disturbed only by religious dissensions. But 
in 375, Bishop Ulphilas, with other ambassadors from the Goths, 
solicited his assistance against the Huns, — an oriental people, Calmucks 
or Mongols, closely allied to the Finnish stock. 

* Abridged from the " Histoire de la Destruction du Paganiame," by Mr. Arthur Beug- 
not, which contains a luminous criticism of the character of Julian, enhanced by a 
vigorous style and extensive learning. 



152 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Battle of Adrianople, a. d. 378. — The Goths, to the number of 
nearly a million, were transported across the Danube, and settled on the 
southern bank of that river. Roman avarice and treachery drove them 
to revolt ; but they were kept in check by the lieutenants of Valens, and 
their forces wasted by famine. The emperor hastened in person from 
the East, and on the 9th August 378, attacked the invaders near Adria- 
nople, where he suffered a terrible defeat, losing- two-thirds of an army 
of 300,000 men. He fled wounded from the field, and took refuge in a 
peasant's hut, to which the victors set fire, not knowing that the monarch 
lay concealed within. The inexperience of the Goths prevented them 
from taking advantage of their triumph otherwise than by ravaging 
Thrace, and carrying their predatory expeditions to the walls of Con- 
stantinople. 

When Gratian, the Western Emperor, received the news of these 
events, he called Theodosius from his estate in Spain, to which he had 
retired on the death of his father, and raised him to the Eastern throne, 
as being the only man capable of bearing the heavy weight of power, 
379. Nor were the general expectations disappointed, for, by his pru- 
dence, he delivered the Roman provinces from the Goths, and taking 
advantage of their dissensions, compelled them to capitulate, 382, so 
that, until his death, the empire did not lose a single province. His 
reign was not less devoted to religion than to politics ; for, while he 
crushed the barbarians, he endeavoured also to eradicate the Arian 
heresy, even at the price of blood. During the civil wars of the West, 
he made two campaigns in Italy, where his success was equal to the 
justice of his cause. After the defeat and death of the usurper Eugenius, 
he became sole emperor of the world, a title which he enjoyed only a few 
months, as he died at Milan in 395. He was the last who ruled over 
the whole Roman empire, which, torn and distracted as it was, his two 
sons divided between them. Arcadias, as emperor of the East, reigned 
at Constantinople ; and Honorius in the West preferred Ravenna to the 
ancient capital of the empire. 

By the moderation which characterized the victories of Theodosius, by the 
wisdom of his laws, and the success of his arms, he justly merited the title of 
Great. Friends and enemies, Pagans and Christians, have alike given their 
testimony to his talents and virtues. He preserved on the throne the simple 
manners of his early life, and the splendour of the diadem never made him 
forget that he was a father, husband, and friend. His good qualities were, how- 
ever, tarnished by his momentary impetuosity and his occasional cruelty when 
under the influence of excited passion, as in those melancholy instances when 
the inhabitants of Antioch and of Thessalonica rose in revolt against him. 

WESTERN EMPIRE. 

Valentinian, a. d. 364, preserved a strict impartiality and toleration 
during this age of religious contention, his mind being occupied by other 
subjects. The Alemanni invaded and ravaged Gaul, but the brave 
Jovinus, after a severe conflict, drove them across the Rhine, 366. In 
Britain the inroads of the Scots and Picts were repeatedly checked by 
the vigorous exertions of Theodosius, father of the emperor of that name. 
The same brave general afterwards recovered Africa, which had joined 
the rebellious standard of Firmus the Moor, 373. The Goths, despising 
the two obscure princes who were raised to the throne, passed thf 



FOURTH CENTURY A. D. 153 

Danube, to the number of 30,000 men ; but after a sanguinary war of 
three years, they were glad to accept peace. The Quadi followed, with 
still worse success; and it was while receiving their ambassadors that 
Valentinian broke into a furious passion which caused his death, 375. 

Gratian ascended the throne on the death of his father. His first 
exploit in arms was the defeat of the Alemanni who had crossed the 
Rhine, in 378. Unable to resist alone the tempest of barbarians who 
threatened to burst over the provinces, he invested Theodosius with the 
empire of the East, 379. The preference he manifested for his Scythian 
body-guard naturally excited the discontent of the Roman troops. 
Maximus, who commanded in Britain, availed himself of these mur- 
murs to assume the purple, and Gratian perished by the hand of an 
assassin, 383. Not satisfied with possessing the provinces westward 
of the Alps, the usurper invaded Italy, which was governed by Valen- 
tinian II., a brother of the late monarch. Theodosius supported the 
Italian prince, and Maximus was defeated and killed at Aquileia, 388 ; 
but, notwithstanding, Valentinian perished by the hand of the Frank 
Arbogastes, before he had completed his twentieth year, 392. The rhe- 
torician Eugenius, secretary of the barbarian general, was raised to the 
vacant throne, and for two years Theodosius durst not attack him, 
defended as he was by the skill of his master and the numerous Franks 
he had collected around him. The battle which, in 394, put an end to 
the reign and life of Eugenius, was fought by foreigners alone : the 
troops of Theodosius being Goths, under the command of their native 
chiefs, and their antagonists Franks and Allemanni. 

The history of the Western Empire now rapidly approaches its close. The 
luxury which pervaded the cities, and the relaxation of military discipline 
prepared its fall. Ministers, soldiers, and generals were chosen from the bar- 
barous tributaries of Rome ; and the incorporation of the Goths and other tribes 
was a fatal injury to the internal government of the state. The court was given 
up to idle pomp and ceremony ; women and eunuchs directed the affairs of the 
world ; corruption, injustice, and oppression, famine and pestilence, completed 
the gloomy picture. 

BARBARIC MIGRATIONS. 

The fourth century was marked by an incident of great importance,- 
the appearance of the Huns in Europe; an event which led to the grea 
migrations that followed, and finally brought on the destruction of tl e 
Roman Empire in the West. 

The name of German comprehends all those tribes which, from the 
time of Julius Ceesar, were established between 56° N. latitude and the 
Danube, and between the Rhine and the Vistula. One of these nations, 
the Goths, being driven from the mouths of the latter river by others 
who dwelt farther to the east, sought refuge on the frontiers of Dacia, 
where Caracalla found them in 213. Aurelian permitted them to settle 
along the Euxine Sea, when they became divided into Eastern or Ostro- 
goths — from the Don to the Dniester, and Western or Visigoths — from 
the Dniester to the Danube. About the year 374 the barbarous horde 
of the Hiong-?m, or Huns, appeared on the eastern bank of the Don. 
They were a nomad people who wandered over the mountains and pas- 
ture-grounds of Upper Asia, particularly in the countries lying between 
Liberia and India. The first historical notice of them is found in 



154 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Chinese documents of the age of Domitian. Their khan or tanjou, 
Tehun Goei, had founded a powerful empire beyond the northern edge 
of the desert of Kobi, by whose successors the Manchoos or Eastern 
Tartars were subdued. The Chinese, who vainly opposed their great 
wall to check these incursions, were reduced by the Tanjous ; but for- 
tune changing, the Emperor Vou-ti expelled them from his country, and 
the Manchoos alsu threw off their yoke. A prey to dreadful famine and 
intestine wars, the Huns abandoned the steppes of Tartary, and in two 
great bodies inarched to the westward. The w T hite Huns, or Neptha- 
lites, settled in Transoxiana, whence they annoyed the Persians ; while 
the other tribes to the north of the Caucasus, and between the Volga 
and the Don, encountered the Alani, a people almost as savage as them- 
selves. These they carried along with them in their course, and the 
two hordes, now confounded in one, arrived on the borders of the Ostro- 
goths. They did not force the vanquished inhabitants to quit their 
lands, but compelled them to supply a certain number of guides to lead 
them to the attack of the Visigoths. These latter tribes, at the approach 
of this terrible scourge, fled in multitudes towards the Danube, and sup- 
plicated Valens, 376, to receive and protect them on the right bank; 
promising that when they were once sheltered by this barrier, they 
would consecrate their services to the defence of the empire. How the 
declarations of this million of suppliants were kept, the reader will find 
detailed elsewhere. 

THE CHURCH. 

The Christian religion, although severely persecuted, resembled the 
herb that flourishes best when most trodden upon. The blood of the 
martyrs was the seed of the Church, and hence converts rapidly spread 
over the empire, and to the remotest parts of the world. Heresy and 
schism, no doubt, arose simultaneously with the propagation of the 
Gospel ; nevertheless, within three centuries, Paganism was entirely 
abolished. But the Arian controversy threatened more serious danger 
than external persecution; the believers were for a long period dis- 
united, and the bond of evangelical brotherhood was broken. With the 
death of Constantine began the two principal innovations which still 
divide the Catholic (or Universal) Church, and which have proved the 
source of all the corruptions that have degraded Christianity : by the 
one the doctrine was contaminated, and by the other the government of 
the independent Episcopal churches was destroyed. It ought to be 
remembered that every church was a society complete in itself, govern- 
ed in all its branches by one episcopal head, who was liable to be 
deposed if he violated the faith, — even the patriarchs of the three royal 
cities, Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria, with those of Constantinople 
and Jerusalem, scarcely forming an exception to the general rule. Cer- 
tain large ecclesiastical provinces, such as Persia, Armenia, and Abys- 
sinia, which lay beyond the limits of the empire, had also their patri- 
archs or catholics. Lastly, there were in it a few provinces united with 
a metropolitan, who took the name of archbishop, as Canterbury in 
England, Vienne in Gaul, Seville in Spain, and Milan in Italy. As to 
the bishops or overseers (episcopi), their establishment dates from the 



FOURTH CENTURY A. D. 155 

first ages of Christianity : elected by the people and clergy of their 
diocese, their spiritual authority was equal to that of the metropolitans 
and patriarchs, on whom, from the exigencies of the + imes, the church 
had conferred certain exterior privileges. Below the bishops were the 
elders (presbyters or priests), charged by them with the exercise of a 
spiritual authority over those members of their diocese whom they them- 
selves could not reach. The deacons or servants were destined to per- 
form the humbler functions of the ministry. The equality of this 
spiritual republic was, nevertheless, modified by its discipline ; for the 
priest was inferior to the bishop, and both to the provincial council in 
which the metropolitan presided. 

The errors of Arius, 318, convulsed the church during three centuries. 
Rejecting the plain declaration of the Bible and the evidence of an- 
tiquity, he taught that Jesus Christ was essentially distinct from the 
Father, and only the first and noblest of created beings. These here- 
tical tenets led to the summoning of the general councils of the bishops 
and doctors of the church, — at Nice, 325; Constantinople, 381; 
Ephesus, 431 ; Chalcedon, 451, — by which the opinions of the primi- 
tive Christians were confirmed on the subject of the person of Christ, 
of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Atonement.* But the savage 
inroads of the barbarians, the extinction of learning, and an almost 
universal mental abasement, prepared the way for the establishment of 
Popery and Mohammedanism — the rival enemies of pure religion in the 
West and East. 

The church of Rome began early to assume authority over the others, 
as well from the number and wealth of its converts as from its position 
in the capital city. Many circumstances, especially the Athanasian 
controversy and its results, concurred to augment the influence of its 
bishop, although his usurpation and ambition were for a time vigorously 
repelled. Irenseus of France, in 195, reproved the presumption of 
Victor of Rome, who had excommunicated the Asiatic churches which 
did not observe Easter after his fashion. The Romish mandates were 
peremptorily rejected by the African church, 250; and Spain a few 
years afterwards refused to submit to the pontiff. The transference of 
the seat of power to Constantinople increased the authority of the 
western church, by conferring the chief magistracy on the bishop. To 
this must be added the sanction given by Gratian and Valentinian to 
the custom of appeals to Rome, the frequent pilgrimages to the tombs 
of St. Peter, j St. Paul, and other martyrs. 

* The Council of Constantinople was convoked by Theodosius the Great, and the 
patriarchs of Alexandria and Constantinople presided in succession. St. Gregory of 
Nazianznm was among the number. The symbol of the mass, afterwards received by 
the whole Romish church, was here proposed. The Council of Ephesus was convoked 
by Theodosius the younger. St. Cyril of Alexandria presided ; the Nestorians and 
Pelagians were condemned. The Council of Chalcedon was convoked by the Emperor 
Marcian. One of the canons then enacted, by which Constantinople ought, to enjoy the 
same advantages as Rome in the ecclesiastical order, was the germ of schism which 
afterwards separated the Greek from the Western church. 

f The most magnificent temple in the world was raised over the traditionary tomb of 
St. Peter ; but whatever may be the decisions of the critics as to his visit to Rome and 
martyrdom in that city, there can be no reasonable doubt that neither he nor St. Pau) 
waa the founder of the Christian church in that metropolis. 



156 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 



GENERAL TABLE OF COUNCILS. 



> 

Council. 


When. 


Where. 


By whom 
Summoned. 


President. 


Why? 


Results. 


1 


325 


Nice. 


Constantine. 


Osius. 


To settle 
the Arian 
disputes. 


Nicene Creed ; re- 
cognition of con- 
substantiality of the 
Son of God with 
God the Father. 

i 



The teacher should furnish the pupil with the particulars from Milner, 
Mosheim, or any more authentic source. 

Remarks on the Establishment of Christianity by Constantine. 

It is uncertain whether faith or patriotic philanthropy induced the Roman 
emperor to distribute the ministers of Christ over his dominions, and to assign 
.hem a territorial revenue. Contemporaneously with this establishment was 
the progress of a great and general corruption which had arisen from other 
causes two centuries before. Superstition and ignorance had invested the 
ecclesiastics with a power which they exerted to their own aggrandizement, 
supplanting the authority of Scripture by a discipline and doctrine which blind- 
ed the souls of men. In this alone — which the establishment should have 
restrained and corrected — originated the despotism of priests, and by it they 
were enabled to rule at will over the consciences of their deluded votaries. In 
consequence of the new arrangement, the religion of Christ spread from the 
cities and .towns over all the rural districts, and the Pagans (i. e. villagers, in a 
literal sense) were brought into the Christian fold. An unfailing succession of 
ministers was thus secured ; a refuge during the dark and stormy ages, already 
impending over the empire, was prepared ; virtue found a safe retreat ; and 
learning was sheltered till brighter days arose. The religion of the Gospel 
could never have perished ; but the sufferings consequent upon the barbarian 
invasions would have been increased tenfold, and all literature and science 
would have disappeared in the wreck of the governments. 

Heresies. — The great heresies in the early Christian church may be traced 
to three sources : — 1. Pagan Philosophy; 2. Opinions as to the Nature of Christ; 
and, 3. Doctrines in regard to the Human Will and Original Sin. 

I. Philosophy. — The Gnostics rejected the law of Moses, with some parts 
of the New Testament, and regarded Christ as an intermediate being between 
God and man, an emanation from the Pleroma, or fulness of the Godhead, sent 
into the world to deliver the human being from the empire of the genii, and to 
withdraw souls from the malignant influence of matter. Some abstained from 
marriage, and by fasting and maceration endeavoured to free the soul from the 
fleshly prison to which it was confined ; others of the Gnostics indulged in every 
kind of vice, as they attached no idea of good or evil to any of the different 
modifications of matter. 

The Manichees derive their name and creed from the Persian Mani, whose 
belief was a mixture of Christianity and Sabaism, founded on the oriental tra- 
dition of two principles of Good and Evil. He rejected the Old Testament, 
and published a gospel of his own, meant by him to complete the imperfect 
revelation of Jesus. He identified the God of the Old Testament with the evil 
spirit; rejected all religious ceremonials; and taught the doctrine of the me- 
tempsychosis, with the triple division of human souls. He was put to death by 
order of Varanes I., after a dispute with the Magians, and his skin, stuffed with 
straw, was placed over the gate of the city of Shahpoor, 275. His doctrines 
spread even to Spain ; they were adopted by Priscilian, bishop of Abyla, who 
suffered as a heretic — the first victim — at Treves, 385. 



FOURTH CENTURY A. D. 157 

Carpocrates founded the sect which bears his name. He taught the pre- 
existence of the soul, and that everything was a matter of indifference, except 
faith and charity. By this he appears to inculcate the contempt of all laws, and 
that, as our passions were given us by God, we should satisfy .hem at all risks. 
He added to this licentious doctrine the principle, that excess in debauchery is 
a more certain, speedy, and, at the same time, a more agreeable method of 
destroying the burdensome body than the practice of self-mortificatii a. His 
creed was partly Gnostic. 

Nicolas, deacon of Jerusalem, chief of the Nicolaitans, formed a sect which, 
by an unlimited extension of the community of goods, degraded men to brutes, 
and sapped the foundations of society. 

A physician, Monlanus, desirous of perfecting the moral precepts of Christ, 
proscribed all pleasures, dress, the arts, and philosophy. Rigorous fasts were 
enjoined : marriage was tolerated as a necessary evil, but second nuptials were 
considered an inexpicable sin ; and all religion was resolved into an inward 
emotion. The eloquent Tertullian was one of his proselytes. His followers 
were called Montanists. — The Valesians and Origenists went to still greater 
excesses. 

II. Opinions as to the Nature of Christ. — The Macedonians, Sabel- 
lians. and Monarchists preceded Arius, who denied the proper divinity of the 
Saviour. This heresy was first taught at Alexandria, in a spirit of opposition 
to the patriarch ; it gradually divided the church, and was formally condemned 
by the Council of Mice, 325. 

The Nestorians imagined a useless and dangerous distinction between the 
human and divine nature of Christ. They were condemned by the Council of 
Ephesus, 431. — The Eutychians, called also Jacobites, fell into the opposite 
error, and were censured by the Council of Chalcedon, 451. 

III. Doctrines in regard to the Human Will and Original Sin. — 
Two monks, Pelagius, a Briton, and the Irish Celestius, wholly rejected the 
doctrine of original sin, and of the influence of divine grace, and asserted the 
entire freedom of the will. St. Auguslin was the great champion of orthodoxy 
against these opinions. 

The Donatists and Iconoclasts belong to a different class. They did not 
object to the IS icene creed ; their errors were not doctrinal ; they were rather 
schismatics or rebels. The first sect arose out of the disputes concerning the 
succession to the bishopric of Carthage. The opinions of Donatus were con- 
demned by the conference at Carthage, 411. — An account of the Iconoclasts 
is given in the history of the eighth century. 

The preceding brief list of heresies can give but a feeble and imperfect idea 
of the numberless and unmeasured aberrations into which the passion of dog- 
matizing and the seductions of an unsubstantial glory led away many proud 
spirits. Who can tell what sufferings these deep wounds inflicted on the church ! 
The hand of God had supported it during the persecutions of the Pagans ; it 
found in its own ministers men armed with prudence and courage to defend it 
from internal enemies. At first it opposed to its misled children the authority 
of the Holy Scriptures and pure tradition only ; but when the princes of the 
earth had recognised the reign of Christ, the civil power lent its support to the 
laws of the church. The mere errors of conscience were assimilated to crimes, 
and often met with the same punishment. 



11 



158 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 



Ro.ME.< 



FIFTH CENTURY. 

FOUNDATION OF MODERN STATES. 
''Eastern Empire. — 395, Alaric. — 403, Theodosius II. — 420, Persia 
War.- 450, Marcian. — 457, Leo the Great. — 491, Anastasius. 
Wester -. Empire. — 408, Britain relinquished. — 410, Visigoths at Rome 
— Vandals, Alani, and Suevi. — 414, Franks, Burgundians, &c, in 
Gaul. 452, Attila. — 476, Fall of the Western Empire — 
[^ Odoacer and Theodoric. 
Venice. — 452, Commencement of the Republic. 

Gaul.— 420, Pharamond.— 428, Clodion.— 448, Merovens. — 486, Clovis. 
The Church. — Monachism — Conversion of the Barbarians. 

DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE. 

Each empire was now divided into two prefectures ; these into two dioceses, 
and subdivided into provinces. The cities with their dependencies formed the 
lowest division in this political scale. 



Prefectures. 



I. 
East. 



Dioceses. 



fl. East. 



2. Egypt. 



3. Asia. 



4. Pontus. 



Provinces. 
3 Palestines, Phoenicia. 
2 Syrias, Cyprus, Arabia. 
2 Cilicias, Mesopotamia. 



{ 

C Egypt Proper, Thebais. 
^2 Lybias, Augustamnica. 
rPamphilia, Hellespont. 
< Lydia, Lycaonia, 2 Phrygias. 
v.Lycia, Caria, the Isles. 
r2 Galatias, Buhynia, Pontus. 
K 2 Cappadocias. Paphlagonia. 
(.5 



5. Thrace. 



I. 

Italy. 



II. 

Gaul. 



.2 Armenias, Helenopontus, Polemonium. 
C Europe, Thrace, Rhodope. 
£ Haemus, 2d Moesia, Scythia. 
rAchaea, Macedonia. 
II. fl. Macedonia. < Crete, Thessaly. 
Illyria • (.Epirus (old and new). 

rEastern).^ n . C Dacia {Interior and Ripuarian). 

\J- ^ acia< £ 1st Moesia, Dardania, Prcevalis. 
/-I. Italy (sub- f Venice, Liguria, 2 Picentums. 
divided into Tuscany and Umbria, Campania. 
the Dioceses) Sicily, Apulia. Calabria. 
of Italy and} Lucania and Bruttium, Cottian Alps. 
Rome.) \ 2 Rhaetias, Samnium, Valeria, Sardinia, Cor- 

(^ sica. 

C2 Pannonias, Savia. 
^Dalmatia, Noricum. 
CTripolis, Byzacium. 
I Numidia, 2 Mauritanias. 
^-Boetica, Lusitania, Galicia. 
•2 Tarraconensis, Carthaginiensis. 
(.Balearic Isles, Tingitania (Africa). 
C Narbonnensis (2), Vienne, 
J Alps (Maritime and Pennine). 
i 3 Aquitaines, 5 Lyonnais, 
^Belgica (2), Germany (2). 
r2 Britains 

iFlavIr and } C * sariensis > Valcntia. 
Prepare : Maps of the two empires with the preceding divisions. 



2. Illyria 
( Western). 

3. Africa. 



fl. Spain. 



2. Gaul. 



3. Britain. 



FIFTH CENTURY A. D. 159 



EASTERN EMPIRE. 



Invasion of Alaric. — Arcadius, the eldest son of the great Theodo- 
sius, seemed to impress his own feebleness on that empire whose history 
begins with his reign, a. d. 395. He ruled over Thrace, Asia Minor, 
Syria, Egypt, Dacia, and Macedonia. The obscure but clever Gascon 
Kufinus, who owed his elevation to the father, preserved his influence 
over the son ; but his fall and death were brought on by his cruelties in 
the East, and by the marriage of the sovereign. He was succeeded by 
Eutropius, who shortly after incurred a similar fate. Gainas, the leader 
of the barbarian auxiliaries, dissatisfied at the frequent changes in the 
state, and probably moved by ambition, meditated the destruction of the 
Greek monarchy, by delivering up its capital into the hands of his 
fellow-countrymen; but the plot being discovered, he was compelled to 
withdraw beyond the Danube, where he perished in battle against the 
Huns. The empire escaped from these dangers only to encounter still 
greater. The Visigoths, on the refusal of Arcadius to pay the annual 
tribute, poured their wild bands into Thrace and Pannonia, following 
the guidance of Alaric, a chief of the ancient Balti. From the Adriatic 
to the Bosphorus, everything was devastated ; and the Goths penetrated 
as far as Athens, the walls of which were vainly defended by the shade 
of Achilles and the powerful aegis of Minerva. They escaped from 
Stilicho, the minister of Honorius, who was sent against them, when 
the feeble counsels of Arcadius promoted the invader to the title of 
Prefect of Illyricum, 398. 

Pulcheria. — The intrigues and conspiracies of the Eastern court are 
too numerons and too similar to deserve particular notice ; but they con- 
tributed to the distress of the country by the consequent impossibility 
of employing the resources of the empire against the Barbarians. 
Pulcheria, scarcely fifteen years of age, was put at the head of affairs, 
and intrusted with the education of her young brother, Theodosius II., 
408. During this minority the empire enjoyed internal as well as 
foreign peace ; and its frontiers were extended by the addition of part 
of Armenia in 441. Theodosius, celebrated for the oldest collection of 
the Roman law which has come down to our time, was succeeded by 
Marcian, a soldier of great merit, who was invested with the purple 
when he received the hand of Pulcheria, 450. He braved the menaces 
of Attila, and by his firmness restored the peace of the church. With 
the death of his wife, in the year 453, the family of Theodosius became 
extinct. 

The successor of Marcian was Leo the Great, a. d. 457. Proclaimed 
by the people, the army, and the senate, and crowned for the first time 
by the patriarch, this simple Thracian soldier appeared to revive the 
long-disused military elections of the empire. The Isanrian guard had 
for some time displaced the praetorians, whose privileges they now 
seemed desirous of assuming. On the death of Leo, they invested his 
son-in-law, their general Zeno, with the imperial dignity. A revolution 
placed Basiliscus on the throne, who quitted his pleasures only to 
terminate by an edict of union the quarrels of the Orthodox and the 
Eutychians. 

On the death of Zeno, Ariadne, the mother of Leo II., married a 
heretic, Anastasius the Silentiary, who attained the sceptre in 491. 



160 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

His character may be learnt from the flattering' shout which greeted his 
accession — Reign as you have lived ! His excessive intolerance towards 
the orthodox was atoned for by the removal of many oppressive taxes, 
the abolition of the sale of offices, the prohibition of combats between 
men and animals, the banishment of the seditious Isaurians, and other 
beneficial measures. He built Dara in Armenia to cover the frontiers 
on the side of Persia, and erected a wall fifty-four miles in length from 
the Euxine to the Propontis, for the defence of Constantinople. His 
long reign was agitated by religious quarrels, which in one instance 
cost the lives of 100,000 inhabitants of the capital. He was succeeded 
by Justin I., a Thracian peasant, 518, whose throne, nine years after- 
wards, was occupied by his celebrated nephew Justinian. 

WESTERN EMPIRE. 

Battle of Pollentia. — Honorius was eleven years of age when he 
succeeded to the government of Italy, Africa, Gaul, Spain, Britain, 
Noricum, Pannonia, and Dalmatia, in 395. His minister, the intrepid 
and sagacious Stilicho, himself of Vandal origin, supported the dignity 
of the Roman name in the West. After the revolt in Africa was quelled, 
398, he was sent against Alaric, at that time ravaging Greece ; but he 
was soon called to defend the sacred soil of Italy itself against that 
daring barbarian, 402. The Visigoths, after insulting Milan, and being 
almost shut up in their camp at Pollentia, were defeated in two battles, 
and compelled to leave in the hands of their conquerors a great part of 
the booty which they had collected in Greece. Honorius enjoyed, in 
Rome, the triumphal honours due to his successful general ; and after- 
wards transferred the imperial residence to Ravenna, trusting for safety 
rather to the waters of the Adriatic than to the arms of his soldiers. 
Alaric retired into Pannonia, but the season of calm, which the Western 
Empire enjoyed, was of brief duration. Italy was again overrun by 
Radagaisus, who had served under that adventurer, and Rome threatened ; 
but the manoeuvres of Stilicho shut him up in the mountains, near 
Fassulae, where the united forces of the Goths and Huns were starved 
into surrender, and the leader himself beheaded, 406. Meantime Gaul 
was desolated by the Vandals from modern Lusatia, by the Suevi from 
between the Maine and the Neckar, and by the Alani from the banks of 
the Danube. It was defended by Constantine, who had usurped the 
imperial power, and whose lieutenant Constans administered the affairs 
of Spain. 

Capture of Rome. — Stilicho fell a victim to the intrigues of 
Olympius, an officer of the palace, who inspired the feeble Honorius 
with the determination of getting rid of a powerful minister, who was 
said to meditate the placing of his own son on the imperial throne. 
Thus the only general who was capable of defending Italy was put to 
death in 408. Alaric immediately resumed his projects against it, 
ostensibly to revenge the wrongs of his principal adversary ; but 
neglecting Ravenna, he marched to Rome, which, since the time of 
Hannibal, more than six hundred years, had seen no enemy before its 
gates. A close blockade soon forced it to capitulate, on condition of 
paying 5000 pounds of gold, 30,000 of silver, 4000 silk dresses, 3000 
pieces of fine scarlet cloth, and 3000 pounds of pepper, the last an 



FIFTH CENTURY A. D. 161 

article held in the greatest esteem. The obstinacy and treachery of 
Honorius compelled Alaric to march a third time against the capital. 

At midnight a band of slaves in his interest opened the Salarian gate, 
and the inhabitants were roused from their slumbers by the sound of the 
Gothic trumpet in their streets. Eleven hundred and sixty-three years 
after its foundation, Rome, which had subdued the greatest part of the 
earth, was given up for six days to the fury of Scythians and Ger- 
mans, 410. The piety of these recently converted barbarians respected 
the basilics of St. Peter and St. Paul. Marching to the south, de- 
vastating every thing upon which he set his foot, Alaric was surprised 
by death in the course of a few months at Consentia (Cosenza), while 
meditating an expedition to Africa — He was succeeded by Ataulphus, 
with whom the emperor made peace by giving to him his sister Placidia 
in marriage. In return, he led his followers against the usurpers Con- 
stantine, Gerontius, Jovinus, and Sebastian, who were disputing the 
sovereignty of Gaul. The first was made prisoner at Aries and capitally 
punished ; the second put himself to death ; the other two were con- 
quered by the .Visigoths, and perished on the scaffold at Narbonne. 
Before the demise of Honorius in 424, several barbarian kingdoms had 
been established : the Burgundian in 413 ; the Suevian in Galicia, and 
the Visigoths in the south of France, 419. The main object of his 
government was the extirpation of heresy and paganism ; he declared 
all noncomformers inadmissible to public offices, destroyed the temples 
with their idols, and endeavoured to abolish all gladiatorial shows. 

Kingdom of Carthage, a. d. 439. — Honorius leaving no children, 
the inheritance reverted to Theodosius II., his nephew ; but the union 
of the crowns of the East and West was no longer possible, and the em- 
peror wisely transferred his rights to Valentinian III., the son of 
Placidia, 424. This princess defeated John the Secretary, who had 
usurped the Italian throne, and took the reins of state, while Pulcheria, 
sister^of Theodosius, ruled in the east in the name of her brother. Under 
the new reign the dismemberment of the empire proceeded rapidly. 
Boniface, the governor of Africa, when on the point of falling a victim 
to the intrigues of the powerful minister, iEtius, proposed to Genseric the 
Vandal, in return for his assistance, a partition of the wealthy province 
of Africa, and that Mauritania should be his share. The court of Ra- 
venna exerted itself in support of the governor, but he was unable to 
defend his province, and in 435, Valentinian, that he might save Car- 
thage, ceded all Roman Africa. Genseric, four years later, became 
master of this great and populous city, plundered the treasures of the 
Catholic churches, and being installed in his new capital, assumed the 
title of King of the Earth, of the Sea, and of the Islands. His formi- 
dable navy had reduced Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, the Balearic Isles, 
ravaged the northern coast of the Mediterranean, and threatened 
Constantinople. 

Attila. — The tribes of Huns established in the countries from whence 
they had expelled the Goths, between the Don, the Theiss, and the 
Volga, were united under this single chief, denominated the Scourge of 
God. The Byzantine court having refused the payment of the stipulated 
subsidy to his people, these barbarians crossed the frontiers, ravaged 
Thrace and Illyria, and forced Theodosius not only to pay the arrears, 
but to abandon the right bank of the Danube, 446. The emperor did 
14* 



162 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

not long survive this humiliation. His successor Marcian opposed the 
pretensions of Attila with a firmness not unbecoming the Romans of an 
earlier age, and the barbarian was compelled to turn his views towards 
the West. In 451, he marched up the left bank of the Danube, and 
arrived at Basle, on the Rhine, with an army of 500,000 men. At the 
news of this irruption, yEtius endeavoured to preserve Gaul for his em- 
pire : but in vain did the Burgundians dispute the passage of the river. 
Attila descending its left bank as far as Mentz, plundered Treves and 
Metz ; after which leading his troops into the heart of Gaul, he pitched 
his camp before Orleans. At the very moment that he was entering 
that city by one gate, through another was advancing the army of 
vEtius, with Theodoric and his Visigoths, and Meroveus with the 
Franks. The Huns were driven out and in the plains of Croisette, 
near Cbalons on the Marne, a sanguinary battle was fought, in which 
160,000 men were left dead upon the field, and the invader compelled to 
return to Germany. The next year he marched on Italy, destroyed 
Aquileia, took Pavia and Milan, and ravaged the north-eastern parts of 
the peninsula. He entered Ravenna through a breach in the walls, 
which the people had beeen obliged to make in token of their submission 
to his will, and hither the venerable pontiff Leo brought presents to 
conciliate the ferocious conqueror. The wrath of the latter was as- 
suaged, and he retired from Italy loaded with the plunder of an hundred 
unfortunate cities. His death, in 453, was not less extraordinary than 
his life. Having espoused, in addition to a multitude of wives, the 
beautiful Hildichunde, he perished in the night of his marriage — intoxi- 
cated, and slain in a drunken fray, according to one account; a sacrifice 
to female craft, according to Agnellus; but most probably of apoplexy. 
The custom of primogeniture being unknown, the estates of the conqueror 
were divided by lot among all his sons.* 

Taking of Rome by Genseric, a. d. 455. — Maximus having procured 
the murder of Valentinian III. and married his widow Eudoxia* had 
reigned three months, when the fleet of Genseric entered the port of' 
Ostia to take vengeance on the guilty emperor, who was torn in pieces 
by the exasperated populace, wiiile the injuries of ancient Carthage 
were avenged by its new citizens. Rome, which in forty-five years hnd 
recovered its magnificence and forgotten the depredations of Alaric, was 
given up during fourteen days to the license of- the invaders. On the 
abolition of paganism, the capitol had been abandoned, but the statues 
of the gods and heroes which adorned it were respected; all of which, 
with the celebrated roof of gilded bronze, fell into the hands of Genseric. 
The golden table and candlestick, brought from Jerusalem several cen- 
turies before, were transported to Carthage by a barbarian who drew his 
first breath on the shores of the Baltic. The Christian churches and the 
treasures of the imperial palace offered a rich booty; but the vessel loaded 
with the spoils of the capitol, the most precious objects of art, foundered 



* Attila was buried in a wide plain in a coffin enclosed in one of gold, another of 
silver, and a third of iron. With his body was interred an immense amount of booty, 
and that the spot might be for ever unknown, all those who had assisted at the burial 
were deprived of life. The Goths acted nearly in a similar manner on the death of 
Alaric in 410. They turned aside a small river in Calabria, and buried him in a grave 
formed in the midst of the channel. After restoring the stream to its co.irse. they put 
to death all those who had been concerned in the formation of so singular » nla^ of se- 
pulture. 



FIFTH CENTURY A. D. 163 

on its passage. Thousands of Romans of both sexes whose charms or 
talents might contribute to the pleasures of their masters, were removed 
f.o Africa, where they furnished Deogratias, bishop of Carthage, with the 
opportunity of exercising his boundless charity. Eudoxia herself, who 
was plundered of her jewels while hastening to meet her liberator and 
ally, also followed the Vandal into a captivity which was shared by her 
daughters. 

Genseric during twenty years was the terror of the East and West. 
With his numerous fleet, which he always commanded in person, he 
desolated all the coasts of the Mediterranean. After his death, 477, the 
Vandal kingdom was incessantly agitated by religious persecutions or 
harassed by the Moors, until Belisarius reduced Africa once more under 
the Byzantine dominion, 534. 

End of the Western Empire. — During the twenty years which 
elapsed from the death of Valentinian in 455, Italy had acknowledged 
the rule of nine successive emperors. Most of them were mere puppets, 
managed by Ricimer, the commander of the barbarian mercenaries in 
the pay of Rome, and who was too prudent to assume in his own person 
the title of Augustus. Of all these, Majorian was the only one who 
merited title and station. He enacted many wise laws, reformed the 
imposition and collection of taxes, and endeavoured to preserve the 
monuments of the city from destruction at the hands of its own inhabi- 
tants. Nor while thus peacefully occupied, did he neglect the external 
relations of the state. The Vandals and Moors were defeated at the 
mouth of the Liris, and Genseric's brother-in-law was amongst the 
slain. With a brave and disciplined army, the active monarch crossed 
the Alps in the middle of winter, marching on foot at the head of his 
legions, sounding the depth of the snow and encouraging by his example, 
the barbarians, who complained of the severity of the cold. His inten- 
tion was to pass through Gaul and Spain into Numidia, and to overthrow 
the Vandal domination. Gaul submitted to his arms, Spain again 
recognised the authority of the empire, and a fleet of three hundred 
galleys was constructed to menace the African shores. But Majorian 
saw all his prospects blighted ; his ships were surprised and burnt in 
the port of Oarthagena, and he himself perished by the hands of his own 
soldiers, 460. The murderers conferred the supreme dignity successively 
on three senators — Severus III., Anthemius and Olybrius, all equally 
undeserving of the throne. These were followed by Glycerius and 
Julius Nepos, who were deposed in their turn, and ended their career, 
'he one in the honours of a bishopric, the other in the retirement of 
Salona. The patrician Orestes, master-general of the army of Italy, 
after having been the minister of Attila, invested his son Romulus 
Augustulus with the purple which he had stripped from Nepos. But 
the barbarians in the service of the empire, under the name of fede- 
rates, not succeeding in their demand for one-third of the lands of Italy, 
revolted under the Herulean Odoacer. Orestes was defeated and killed 
at Pavia, and the youthful emperor was banished to Lucullanum in 
Campania, where he soon after died. 

Odoacer, a. d. 476, received from his troops the title of King of 
Italy; but fearful of exciting jealousy, he never assumed either the pur- 
ple or diadem. His office was without power; for in case of attack he 
could not rely on the zeal of the population whom he had despoiled ; 



164 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 



while his army, composed of men of every race and tribe, without any 
national tie, and enervated by a long sojourn in the luxurious peninsula, 
was unable to defend the country against invasion. Although pro- 
fessing the Arian doctrines, he tolerated orthodox believers ; he strictly 
enforced the laws ; caused ancient institutions to be respected ; re- 
established the consulate; and, b}^ promoting agriculture, endeavoured 
to obviate those frequent famines which devastated the cities of Italy, — 
a necessary consequence of their entire reliance on supplies from Africa 
and Egypt. After reigning fourteen years, he was attacked by Theo- 
doric the Ostrogoth, and being three times defeated, was driven into 
Ravenna, where he was blockaded nearly three years. He was at last 
compelled to surrender, but his rival, not very scrupulous about his 
plighted word, caused him and his faithful companions to be massacred 
in the midst of a banquet, 493. 

Reflections. — With the banishment of Augustulus, a. v. 476, ended the 
Roman empire, 1228 years from its foundation. Its decline was the necessary 
consequence of its immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principles of 
decay, which were to be found in the licentiousness of the soldiery, the weak- 
ness of the government, and the irruptions of the barbarians. The Queen of 
Nations fell by the hands of a tribe unknown, even by name, in the days of 
her pride. Her fall made no noise ; it was the last sigh of a victim expiring 
under a tedious and incurable malady. Her monarchy was no more than a 
name. Britain was independent ; in Gaul a few provinces only remained faith- 
ful ; Goths and Suevi disputed Spain ; the Vandals governed Africa ; Italy was 
crowded with foreign legions ; and Germany was daily sending forth her swarms 
to prey on the riches of the West. 

The history of the world took another form. Christianity became the domi- 
nant religion, threatened indeed for a time by the furious invasion of Islam. 
No mighty empire now threw its shadow over the whole world ; the monarchies 
were limited in extent and power ; feudalism gave rise to a new order of ideas 
and feelings; and the usurpations of ecclesiastical authority, while they pro- 
moted peace and encouraged the arts, stifled that freedom of thought, which is 
the birthright of every reasonable being. 

Construct: Synoptical Table of Barbaric Invasions. 



Date of 
Invasion. 


People. 


Chief. 


Origin. 


Conquests. 


Manners, &x. 
Laws, &c. 















A. D. 

365, Allemanni invade Gaul. 

402, Goths invade Italy, under Alaric. 

409, Suevi, Vandals, Alani, and other barbarians invade Spain. 

419, Burgundians settled in Gaul. 

449, Saxons invade Britain. 

451, Huns, under Attila, invade Gaul and Italy. 

The prophet Daniel, about 550 b. c. foretold the destruction of the Roman 
empire, and its division into ten kingdoms. Machiavelli, a most unprejudiced 
authority, gives us the following list: — 1. Huns (Hungary) a. d. 356. — 2. Ostro- 
goths (Moesia, Italy) 377.-3. Visigoths (Pannonia) 378.-4. Franks (Gaul) 407, 



FIFTH CENTURY A. D. 165 

• —5. Vandals (Africa) 407. — 6. Suevi (Spain) 407. — 7. Burgundians (Burgundy") 
407.— 8. Heruli (Italy) 476.-9. Saxons (Britain) 476.— 10. Longobards (Danube) 
483 ; (in Lombardy) 526. 

VENICE. 

. The destructive campaigns of Attila laid the foundation of one of the 
most commercial and enterprising cities of the Middle Ages. The 
inhabitants of the Roman province of Venetia, of which the principal 
cities were Aquileia and Padua, fled from the swords of the Huns, 452, 
and found an asylum in the midst of the Adriatic islands, on a point 
named Rialto. The danger over, many continued to inhabit the spot, 
which, for a long period, was ruled by consuls nominated at Padua. In 
709, the Rialto and the adjoining isles began to be governed by their 
own magistrates; they became independent of the Paduan authorities, 
and considered themselves a republic. This is the epoch of their first 
doge, Anafesto, a tribune of the people elected by the citizens. Heraclea 
was the seat of this republic until the death of their third president. 

Consult: Daru's Venice. — Sketches of Venetian History, in the Family 
Library. 

GAUL. 

Gaul was inhabited in remote antiquity by two nations : — the Gauls from the 
north of Europe, who filled the country as far as the mountains of Auvergne ; 
and the Aquitanians, from the south, by way of Spain, who lived between the 
Pyrenees and the Garonne. At a very early period the Ligurians from Spain 
occupied the district from the Pyrenees to the mouth of the Arno. A Grecian 
colony of Phocaeans settled near the mouths of the Rhone, and founded the 
city of Marseilles. About 600 b. c, the Cymri, driven by other tribes from the 
shores of the Black Sea, advanced along the Danube, crossed the Rhine, and 
forcibly established themselves in that part of Gaul which lies between the 
Loire and the Seine. This invasion was the cause of the irruption of the Gauls 
into Italy, where they established themselves in what was afterwards named 
Gallia Cisalpina. The great Julius formed the whole country into an integral 
part of the empire, from which period it shared the destinies of Rome. 

In the fifth century, with the rest of the Western Empire, Gaul suf- 
fered from the ravages of the Northern barbarians. In 406, the Suevi, 
Vandals, and Alani ravaged it; and in 412, after the death of Alaric, 
his successor Ataulphus led the Visigoths along the coast of the Medi- 
terranean into Spain. Aquitaine and all the country between the Loire 
and the Pyrenees formed one kingdom, with Toulouse for its capital. 
Besides this people, at the end of the reign of Honorius we find two 
others firmly established in Gaul. The Burgundians, of Teutonic 
origin, from the banks of the Oder and the Vistula, were first settled 
near the head of the Maine; but about the year 414, they occupied 
Alsace and the western parts of Switzerland. Another Teutonic race, 
the Franks, had emigrated from the Lower Rhine and the Weser, and 
in 35S were allowed by Julian to settle in Toxandria (Brabant), where 
for a time they became the guardians of the Rhine, and the defenders 
of Gaul. Pharamond, son of Marcomir, an unknown and perhaps 
fabulous prince, has no title to be regarded as the founder of the French 
monarchy. This honour belongs rather to Clodion, who crossed the 
Rhine and made incursions as far as the banks of the Somme, where he 
was defeated by iEtius.* On his decease, a prince of his family, 



* Clodion wore long hair, a mark of distinction introduced from Germany ; hence the 
race of long-haired monarclts. Meroveus is said not to have been a son of Clodion. — 
Thierry's Letters. 



166 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

named Meroveus, was raised on the buckler by the Salian Franks in 
448, and gave his name to the first or Merovingian line of kings. His 
son Childeric, at first expelled for his debauchery, was afterwards recall- 
ed by the warriors of his tribe, who, during- his banishment, had recog- 
nised the authority of ^Egidius, the Roman governor of Celtic Gaul. 
Childeric made war on the Visigoths on the banks of the Loire, while 
the Kipuarian Franks were forming settlements at Cologne. From his 
adulterous marriage with Basine, wife of the King of the Thuringians, 
was descended Chlodwig or Clovis, the real conqueror of Gaul. 

BRITAIN. 

Saxon Invasion. — The Caledonians, celebrated in the wars of Agri- 
cola, a. d. 85, disappear, and their place is supplied by the Picts and 
Scots. The former are supposed to be the Caledonians under a new 
name, and were of Scandinavian descent. The latter came from Ire- 
land, then called Scotia, and appear to be a division of the Celtic Cniti y 
whose language, if it remain that of the Vaudois in the Cottian Alps, 
was related to the vernacular Irish and Scotch. The barriers which 
the Romans had built to check the incursions of these fierce tribes, 
proved unavailing in the feebleness of the empire ; but when the Britons 
were left to themselves, 408, instead of sinking in unmanly despair, 
they took arms against their enemies, and drove the Picts from their 
cities. They had thrown off their foreign yoke and declared their inde- 
pendence, before Honorius sent letters to the respective states exhorting 
them to protect themselves. Britain was never after this subject to the 
power of the emperors. The whole southern part of the island during 
the Roman domination appears to have been divided into thirty-three 
districts, which were all continued after 410, although each city {civitas) 
claimed and exercised an independent jurisdiction. Vortigern, the pen- 
dragon — head-king — united some of these communities, and anxious to 
confirm his contested authority, called to his aid a band of predatory 
Saxons who had landed in the south of England, 449. Hengist was 
entirely successful in his battles against the Picts and Scots; but to 
complete his conquest it was necessary to have an armed force always 
ready to meet these barbarians. Such soldiers were easily found among 
his countrymen, who, at his invitation, came over in great numbers. A 
disagreement which ensued between them and their employers occasion- 
ed a long and sanguinary strife, which terminated in the foundation of 
the Saxon kingdom of Kent, 455. The strangers, each day reinforced 
by new adventurers, continued their hostile incursions ; but so firmly 
were they opposed, that Ella could not establish himself as a ruler in 
Sussex before 491. The entire conquest of the southern part of the 
island was not completed until 586. 

Consult: Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons. 

THE CHURCH. 

The history of the Church during this century embraces two im- 
portant subjects : — the commencement of Monastic Institutions and the 
Conversion of the Barbarians. 

I. Monachism originated in the East, the land of contemplation and 
indolence, where an absurd antagonism was raised between the soul and 



FIFTH CENTURY A. D. 1G7 

the body ; the mortification of the one being- supposea to contribute to 
the purity of the other. The Jews had their Essenes and Therapeutse, 
who lived apart from other men, and aspired by the most rigorous 
practices to attain a superhuman perfection. They abstained from wine, 
flesh, and marriage, and renounced all business. Egypt, " the fruitful 
parent of superstition," afforded the earliest example of monastic life. 
Paul of Thebes, about a. d. 250, fleeing from the persecution of Decius, 
retired to a cavern, in which he passed the greater portion of his life, 
supporting himself on dates, with palm-leaves for his only garment. 
Thirty years after him another Egyptian, St. Anthony, lived also in the 
desert ; but around his hut were grouped, at a little distance, othei 
cabins, in which a number of ascetics dwelt in obedience to his au» 
thority. He thus became the father of the monastic life. This new 
passion for solitude was disregarded in the Western Churches until 
Athanasius went to Rome, in the year 340, to solicit the aid of the 
bishop in his contest with the Arians. The disciples of Anthony soon 
spread themselves over the Christian world, and before the end of the 
century a monastery in Flintshire contained above 2000 members. The 
same discipline was introduced into Syria by his immediate followers, 
and at a somewhat later period into the solitudes of Pontus, by St. 
Basil, while St. Martin was establishing in Gaul the first cenobitical 
community. The rule of the Egyptian monks was brought into Pro- 
vence at the beginning of the fifth century, by St. Honoratus and St. 
Cassianus, who founded two establishments, one at Lerins, the other at 
Marseilles, whence issued many learned apostles of the faith and 
monastic life, among whom was St. Patrick, the founder of similar 
colonies in Ireland. These various communities of the West followed 
each its own rule until that of the Benedictines was received throughout 
the whole Latin church. The rapid progress of this system may per- 
haps be attributed to enthusiasm, sympathy, and ambition. Chrysostom 
presumed that none but monks could be saved, and to these terrors of 
the church were added those of the barbarians. The emperors, especially 
Valens, attempted to support the obligations of public and private duties, 
but such feeble barriers as they opposed were soon swept away by the 
torrent of superstition. Freedom of mind was destroyed by credulity 
and submission; and the monks, contracting the habits of slaves, 
followed the faith and passions of their ecclesiastical tyrants. Their 
dress, habitations, and manners were equally filthy and disgusting. 
Athanasius boasts of Anthony's deep horror at clean water, with which 
his feet never came in contact, except from dire necessity. Simeon, 
who died in 451, is immortalized by his penance of thirty years on the 
summit of a lofty column, whence he gained the name of Stylites. 
These monastic saints boasted of their miraculous powers ; they pre- 
tended to cure inveterate diseases with a touch, to tame the beasts of 
the forest, to suspend the course of nature, and even to raise men from 
the dead. The discipline of the Greek Church, which consisted of four 
fundamental articles, — solitude, manual labour, fasting, and prayer, was 
formed by St. Basil. It was long before the follies of the haircloth and 
flagellation were introduced. 

II. The Conversion of the Barbarians offers a more pleasing pic- 
ture than that which we have just been contemplating. Ulphilas, the 
apostle of the Goths, translated the Scriptures into their native tongue, 



168 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

about the year 360.* At the commencement of the fifth century 
Christianity was embraced by almost all the barbarians in the Roman 
empire. The Franks obtained Gaul by their submission to the example 
of Clovis, 496 ; and the Saxons were converted by Roman missionaries, 
although the gospel had been introduced into Britain in the second 
century. These proselytes displayed an ardent zeal in the propagation 
of the true faith, and England had the honour of producing the apostle 
of Germany. An immediate change was effected in the moral condition 
of these nations. The horrors of war were alleviated ; the insolence of 
conquest was moderated ; and the institutions of Rome, religious and 
political, were respected. 

Evangelical truth had been already preached to the Indians, and a 
bishop governed the Christians of St. Thomas on the spice-bearing 
shores of Malabar. A church was founded in Ceylon, and missionaries 
followed in the steps of the caravans even to China and the extremities 
of Asia. The Abyssinians, an Arabian colony, were drawn from their 
barbarism by similar means. 

Rapin observes, that in the fifth century Christianity was debased by a vast 
number of human inventions : the simplicity of its government and discipline 
was reduced to a system of clerical power ; and its worship was polluted with 
ceremonies borrowed from the heathen. 



APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 

History of Literature. 

The invasion of the South of Europe by the barbarians of the North, the 
great event which separates ancient and modern times, interrupted the down- 
ward course of Greek and Roman civilisation. In the East, the Byzantine 
emperors still protected their declining literature ; in the West, its few relics 
were received and fostered in the bosom of the church. It is this decline and 
ruin of learning which composes the entire literary history of the fifth and three 
following centuries. 

I. Alexandrian School. — In despite of its numerous aberrations, this 
school rendered the most valuable services to learning, by preserving and ex- 
plaining the masterpieces of ancient literature, and by endeavouring to reconcile 
the various systems of philosophy. Alexandria, situated at a point where 
Europe, Asia, and Africa unite, became the focus of all doctrines, and its 
academy the mental emporium of the world. Ammonius Saccas, originally a 
porter, about 220, founded the Eclectic school of the New Platonists, which 
united the different systems of the Socratic school, in order to ally them with 
the fantastic mysteries of the East, — a bold endeavour to terminate the disputes 
of the Greek philosophers. Plotinus of Lycopolis, d. 270, Jamblichus of Chal- 
cis, and Porphyry of Tyre, about 300, added to the splendour of the reformed 
school; and as they announced their design of propping up the falling altars of 
polytheism, they naturally became the antagonists of the Christian fathers. 

When the Neo-Platonic school in Rome, as well as that of Alexandria, was 
shut up by order of Constantine in 324, secret societies were formed through- 
out the provinces, and, until 353, flourished principally in Asia Minor. Here 

* TJIphilas had been compelled to embrace Arianism in order to engage the favour of 
Valens. He is said to have invented the Gothic characters, and his precious MS. in 
letters of gold and silver is preserved, under the name of Codex Jlrgenteus, in the library 
of Upsala. 



APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 16'j 

was continued the "golden chain of Platonism," of which Maximus of Ephesus, 
Chrysanthus of Lydia, and Eusebius of Myndus, were the brightest links. 
Under the patronage of Julian, 361, the school of Alexandria was re-opened, 
and a new one founded at Athens. Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, filled with 
honour the chair of Ammonius and Plotinus ; but when she had fallen a victim 
to a furious mob, 415, and the pagan school of Alexandria had perished with 
her, Athens became the centre of this new philosophy. 

Proclus, who succeeded Syrianus in 450, was a man of varied learning. In 
his teaching he united the ideas of Plato with the forms of Aristotle ; but the 
necessity of adapting his opinions to the popular taste compelled him to blend 
his philosophy with oriental myths, orphic revelations, supposed oracles, and 
mystic reveries. The school lingered a short time after his decease, until it 
was closed by an edict of Justinian I. in 529. The Neo-Platonists were 
tolerated, but their sect became extinct with the pagan religion. They were 
succeeded by the peripatetics, whose opinions prevailed m the church until the 
rise of the scholastic philosophy in the eighth century. 

II. Sacred Literature. — The necessity of defending the Christian religion 
against its numerous enemies, and the desire of making proselytes among the 
enlightened spirits of the times, induced the doctors of the church to study the 
religion they were so eager to propagate, the idolatry which they were sworn 
to destroy, and the pagan Philosophy, whose errors must either be exposed or 
rendered subservient to the doctrines of the gospel. Hence arose Ecclesiastical 
Literature. The Christian school of Alexandria did not become celebrated 
until the Stoic Pantaenus, a converted pagan, ascended the professorial chair, 
at the end of the second century. His successor Clement endeavoured tu 
systematize religion ; maintaining, that as God had disseminated the elements 
of truth among the different philosophic sects, it was a Christian's duty to unite 
these scattered fragments, and thus strengthen piety by banishing falsehood. 
The genius and extensive learning of Origen, d. 254, were employed in defence 
of this system ; but he defiled the purity of the faith he meant to defend, and 
introduced a dangerous method, whence afterwards arose that philosophical 
theology, which, under the name of the Scholastic, played so great a part in the 
middle ages. 

Justin Martyr, d. 166, and Tertullian, d. 220, rank as the chief defenders of 
Christianity. They published, the one in Greek and the other in Latin, elo- 
quent and bold Apologies for the new religion. St. Irenaeus led the church 
back from the doctrines of literal and occult meanings, contending that the 
interpretation of the Holy Scriptures should always be conformable to tradition. 
The Old Testament had been early translated into the vulgar tongue ; and 
from the second century we read of versions in Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, and 
Latin, the authors of which are unknown. 

From the third century we meet with works specially consecrated to the 
explanation of the Christian doctrines. The earliest of these is by St. Gregory 
Thaumaturgus, bishop of Neo-Caesarea, who lived till 268. St. Cyril of 
Jerusalem followed him in the next century. While they explained and 
defended the faith against the attacks of heretics, they endeavoured to render 
it useful by founding on it a system of evangelical morality. Tertullian, and 
after him the learned Cyprian of Carthage. 250, first wrote on the connexion 
of morals with the religion of our Saviour. The fourth century — from Con- 
stantine to Theodosius— is the Golden Age of ecclesiastical literature. Atha- 
nasius, d. 371, Chrysostom, d. 407, Ambrose, d. 398, and Augustin, d. 430. 
preached the purest morality in the most eloquent language. Their genius 
aione rose superior to the fall of the empire, and they were the architects of 
*ha great religious edifice which was founded upon its ruins. 

Greek Fathers. — The name of Fathers of the Church has been given to those 
authors who, from the first ages of Christianity, devoted their talents to the 
defence and exposition of the faith. The East and the West alike produced 
men of genius who, uniting extensive learning to piety and courage, added new 
glory to the literature of Greece and Rome, while they imagined themselves 
performing the simple duties of Christians and ministers of the divine word 
15 



170 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

The patronage of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, was less efficacious 
in behalf of his faith than the talents and indefatigable activity of Athanasius, 
who destroyed the heresy of Arius at the council of Nice. In the bishop's 
chair, as well as in exile, he was ever a zealous defender of the Trinitarian doc- 
ir'ne and of religious unity. Eusebius, d. 340, the father of ecclesiastical his- 
tory, although not strictly orthodox, was serviceable to religion by his Prepara- 
tion and Evangelical Demonstration. His great work, describing the propaga- 
tion ol Christianity, the vicissitudes of the church, the struggles of its teachers, 
and the miracles of its martyrs, was translated into Latin by Rufinus, the 
adversary of Jerome. Basil was called from the deserts of the Thebais to fill 
the episcopal chair at Caesarea, 350. Theological disputes occupied the greater 
part of his life ; his homilies are moral treatises, in which the tenderest sensi- 
bility is conveyed in a style sparkling with images and rich in allegory. His 
brother, Gregory of Nyssa, by his philosophy and his energy against heretics 
and schismatics, obtained from his contemporaries the title of Pater Patrum. 
Gregory of Nazianzurn possessed a more elevated genius and more brilliani 
eloquence. When hatred, excited by his censures and by a domineering spirit, 
which he could not repress, had raised powerful enemies against him, he re- 
signed his see without regret, but not without pain, and the farewell of the 
bishop was the masterpiece of the orator. Chrysostom of Antioch, d. 407, by 
his clear and easy eloquence, by his rich and bold imagery, by his power of 
reasoning joined to grandeur of ideas and tenderness of sentiment, may be com 
pared with Demosthenes or Cicero. He is the chief of the orators of that 
primitive period. Theophilus> patriarch of Alexandria, whose intolerance was 
so fatal to the arts and philosophy, brought into the bosom of the church Syne- 
sius of Ptolemais, afterwards bishop of his native city, 430. The latter cele- 
brated in prose and verse the great truths of Christianity, and the beauties of 
religious morals. Cyril of Jerusalem, d. 386, the most skilful teacher of his 
age ; Epiphanius of Salamis, who combated the sectarians with more zeal than 
learning; Cyril of Alexandria, d. 444, the first doctor of the East, with many 
others, shed honour on the age of the Theodosian emperors. John of Damas- 
cus, d. 750, who was the last in those parts, monopolized all the literary glory 
of the eighth century. By his application of the peripatetic forms of demon- 
stration to the Christian doctrines, he became the founder of the Scholastic 
philosophy. 

Latin Fathers. — Arnobius, and Lactantius, " the Christian Cicero," flourish- 
ed in the reign of Constantine ; the one feebly defended his religion against the 
Pagans, the other acquired just renown by his Divine Institutions. — Hilary of 
Poitiers was the champion of Athanasius in Gaul. During his Phrygian exile, 
into which he was driven by an Arian prince, he published his twelve books 
On the Tri?iity, in which he combats all the heresies relating to the Son of God 
and the Holy Ghost. — Ambrose, d. 398, was praetor of Milan, when the uni- 
versal acclamation raised him to the bishopric. He defended with inflexible 
courage the privilege of Catholic worship against the Arians, who were pro- 
tected by Valentinian II. His virtuous tolerance forbade him to communicate 
in the Holy Sacrament with the fanatical bishops who had demanded the blood 
of Priscilian. He taught the chants, of whose use the Latin church had till 
then been ignorant ; but the majestic hymn, Te Deum, which bears his name. 
is the work of a monk of the sixth century. — Jerome, d. 420, opened at Rome 
the first asylum frr misery and infirmity ; but his virtues were no protection 
against calumny. In his retreat at Bethlehem he undertook the translation of 
the Holy Scriptures, a task for which he was well qualified by his profound 
study of Hebrew, and his vast knowledge of sacred archaeology. The church 
adopted his version, known as the Vulgate, and his Commentaries are an 
authority among divines. He translated and continued the Chronicle of Euse- 
bius ; wrote a Biography of ecclesiastical authors, and the Lives of the Fathers 
of the Desert. — Augustin, bishop of Hippo, d. 430, successively professor at 
Carthage, Rome, and Milan, was rescued from his errors by St. Ambrose. He 
raised himself to the first rank among the Latin Fathers by his City of God, 
an immense repertory of profane and theological erudition, in which the author, 
after having in some measure crushed paganism fragment by fragment, applies? 



api*e:>dix to part fikst. 171 

.imseh' to re-establish by invincible proofs the truth of the Christian religion. 
[n 411, he defended the doctrines of Original Sin and Divine Grace, against 
Pelagius. — At the court of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, Dionysius the 
Little, d. 536, created a new science of Chronology. He introduced the com- 
putation of time from the Incarnation, a mode which was slowly adopted by 
the whole Christian world. He also, by the publication of a code of Ca?w?is, 
laid the foundation of ecclesiastical jurisprudence. His book of Pontifical 
Decretals, or letters, was disfigured by the impostures of the forger Isidore of 
Seville, 636. The authentic decretals do not commence before the pontificate 
of Siricius, 385. — The age to which Boethius and Cassiodorus belong was 
worthily brought to a close by Pope Gregory, d. 604, and Bishop Fortunatus 
of Poitiers. 

III. Profane Learning in the West.— The ruin of learning in the Western 
Empire was more rapid and entire than in the Eastern, for the complete deso- 
lation of the former by barbarians destroyed both its language and literature. 
During the Theodosian period, while the poetic riches of the East consisted in 
miserable epigrams or inscriptions, the West produced Ausonius, 380, Pru- 
dentius, 400, Sidonius Apollinaris, d. 488, and others, none of whom was 
devoid of talent. — Claudian, 395, was the last bard of paganism, superior to all 
who had preceded him for two centuries, and equalled by none who came after 
him. — Priscian the grammarian, 380, translated or composed, at Constantino- 
ple, three didactic poems, — on Geography, on Weights and Measures, and on 
Astronomy. — Fortunatus was the poet laureate of the different Merovingian 
courts. Eleven works of miscellanies and a translation in hexameter verse of 
the Life of St. Martin, by Sulpicius Severus, place him at the head of the 
versifiers of his day. 

History. — Ammianus Marcellinus, 370, was far superior to the inflated com- 
pilers of the Augustan History, and was the last author in the West deserving 
the name of historian. The chroniclers who come next are the only writers 
of this period who merit special attention. — Gildas, a fugitive monk who sought 
refuge in the wilds of Armorica, wrote in a mournful strain, in which truth and 
fiction are almost inextricably confused, the particulars of the Anglo-Saxon 
invasion. — Another British monk, the venerable Bede, d. 735, composed the 
ecclesiastical history of England in Latin, and a long treatise on the Six Ages 
of the World. — Gregory of Tours, d. 595, completed the annals of the Franks 
down to 593. 

Philosophy. — The .ast and greatest philosopher of Latin antiquity was a fol- 
lower of the Athenian Platonic school, Boethius, d. 526. He translated the 
Arithmetic of Nicomachus, the Geometry of Euclid, the Poetics of Aristotle, 
and various treatises by Archimedes and Plato. His great work, the Consola- 
tion of Philosophy, was the production of his captivity ; it is a dialogue com- 
posed of mingled prose and verse. 

Philology. — While learning became more and more neglected, there were 
found a few men who devoted their time and abilities to the preservation of the 
remains of antiquity, to the explanation of its masterpieces, and to the teach- 
ing of a language which soon degenerated into a barbarous idiom. The Satur- 
nalia of Macrobius, 395, in the style of the Attic Nights of Gellius, is a valu- 
able work, although written without method or taste. He compiled a com- 
mentary of great value on the Bream of Scipio. — Servius, the most celebrated 
of the commentators on Virgil, lived at the beginning of the fifth century. — 
Cassiodorus wrote on Orthography, and has left a treatise on the Seven Liberal 
Arts. — The most complete grammar of antiquity is the Eight Parts of Speech, 
by Priscian of Caesarea, 500. 

IV. Profane Learning in the East. 

Poetry. — Nonnus of Panopolis, 400, the restorer of hexameter verse, com- 
posed an epic poem, the Dionysiacs, on the exploits of Bacchus. — Quintus of 
Smyrna, surnamed Calaber, from the MS. found in Calabria, wrote a servile 
imitation of the Iliad, bringing it down to the taking of Troy. — The epigram 
alone was cultivated with success during the reigns of Justinian and Heraclius. 

Romance. — At the end of the fourth century, fictions similar to our modern 
romances appear, a kind of writing unknown to classical antiquity, and destined 



172 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

*o become, in the middle ages and in modern times, the living picture of the 
manners of the day. The Golden Ass of Apuleius — the epithet is derived from 
the elegance of its style — was a successful attempt among the Latins. In 390, 
Heliodorus of Emesa composed the history of Theagenes and Chariclea, far 
superior to all contemporary works, except the Loves of Daphnis and Chloe, by 
Longus, the forerunner of Paul and Virginia. Achilles Tatius, 300, wrote 
the Loves of Clitophon and Leucippe. 

History. — The vast collection of the Byzantine historians contains few works 
meriting our esteem. Zosimus, 430, in his prejudiced History of the Casars, 
endeavoured to trace the causes of the decline of the empire. — Procopius of 
Caesarea, 555, wrote a history of his own times in a manner at once clear and 
precise ; but his elegance of style did not preclude bad taste. 

Geography. — As the Byzantines added nothing to the opinions of the ancients, 
so they rarely explained them. Stephanus, 500, wrote a kind of Geographical 
Dictionary, which has not come down to us. 

Philology. — The Greek language which had not yet fallen into decay, did 
not produce many grammarians. The Grammar of Dionysius of Thrace was 
the class-book of the teachers. At Alexandria, Hesychius published his Glos- 
sary about the end of the fourth century. Stobaeus is the author of a collection 
of extracts, compiled for the education of his son, and selected from more than 
500 writers. A few commentaries were written upon the Latin laws of Byzan- 
tium, and the name of Tribonian, 545, occurs among the names of the juris- 
prudentialists. 

Mathematics. — The exact sciences were cultivated by the Platonists. All 
our knowledge of the mathematical acquirements of antiquity is due to the 
school of Alexandria. Hypatia, the learned daughter of Theon, applied the 
ngorous method of geometry to speculative knowledge. Diophantus first 
taught the calculation of indeterminate quantities, and thus created Algebra. 
Proclus wrote on astronomy and the sphere, and composed a commentary on 
Euclid and Ptolemy. 



END OF PART I. ANCIENT HISTORY. 



PART SECOND. 
THE HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 

FROM THE FALL OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE, A. D. 476, TO THE ERA OF THE 
REFORMATION, AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 



The Roman empire had recovered under Theodosius its unity and 
greatness ; but after the death of this prince it began to decline, and 
finally disappeared in the fall of the capital of Italy. This crisis was 
brought on as much by accidental circumstances, as by the concurrence 
and reciprocal action of permanent causes. The despotism of the 
emperors, a natural consequence of political anarchy and military power, 
preserved the characters of its twofold origin, namely, corruption and 
violence. The Antonines had vainly endeavoured to restore national 
and political virtue ; the populace having descended to the lowest degree 
of abasement, white the philosophy of Epicurus had fixed an indelible 
slain on the higher ranks. Christianity could alone arrest the almost 
general licentiousness ; but the designs of Providence still exposed it 
to fiery trials, and its day of triumph had not yet arrived. Diocletian, 
by his divisions of the sovereignty, and Constantine, by the removal 
of the seat of empire to Byzantium, prepared the way for the two 
separate monarchies of the East and the West, and opened the road into 
Italy for the barbarians. The appearance of the Huns in the north of 
Europe drove the savage tribes of Germany across the Roman frontiers. 
These warlike nations braved the power of the emperors under the walls 
of Rome and Constantinople; imposed on them burdensome tributes ; 
entered in whole tribes into the legions ; and finally dismembering half 
of the empire, broke up the whole social state with its imperfect civilisa- 
tion, to establish on its ruins the foundations of the existing political 
system. 

Of the ten centuries embraced in that period of history entitled the 
Middle Ages, five were occupied by the restless movements of the vari- 
ous barbarians, who were partially checked by the strong hand of 
Charlemagne. In the sixth age, that is, about a. d. 1000, repose and 
silence pervaded all Europe ; the decay of literature and civilisation 
extended gradually; while institutions, laws, customs, and languages, 
began to assume their local peculiarities. Amidst the minute territorial 
divisions that took place, there was still found one bond of unity in the 
church, whose members kept up a communication with the remotest 
districts, all preaching the same doctrines, animating with the same 
spirit the almost innumerable societies throughout which they were 
scattered, and combining all nations in one common and holy enterprise. 
15* (173) 



174 MIDDLE AGES. 

It was during 1 the crusades that the representatives of every state in 
Europe, assembling round the tomb of our Saviour, recognised each 
other as brethren. After the Holy Wars the greater communities began 
to be remodelled, as their respective sovereigns issued victorious from 
their contention with feudalism. Then began the rancorous struggle 
between France and England, the rise of the Spanish monarchies, the 
destruction of the imperial authority in Germany, the brief splendour 
and fall of the Italian republics, the revolutions of the Sclavonic and 
Scandinavian states, and finally, the fall of Constantinople, a. d. 1453, 
which, by driving the learned Greeks into the centre and west of Europe, 
contributed in a remarkable degree to the Reformation. 



SIXTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire.— 527, Justinian. — 532, Nika — 557, Earthquake in Syria. — 565, 
Belisarius d. 

Persia. — 528, First War. — 531, Nushirvan.— 532, Perpetual Treaty. — 540, 
Second War. — 590, Varanes (Bahrain). — 591, Chosroes II. 

Italy.— 493, Theodoric— 552, End of Gothic Empire.— 569, Lombards.— 584, 
Autharis. 

France. — 511, Clovis d. — Salic Law. — 558, Clotaire I. 

Spain. — 507, Visigoths enter Spain. 

Britain. — 542, King Arthur d. — 586, Heptarchy. — 596, Saxons converted. 

The Church. — 514, Religious War in Constantinople. — 519, Jewish Persecu- 
tion. — 578, Pelagius the infallible. — 590, Gregory I. 

Literature. — 580, Latin ceases to be spoken. — Stobaeus ; Agathias ; Cassio- 
dorus ; Bcethius ; Priscian ; Journandes ; Gregory of Tours. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Belisarius. — The Eastern Roman, or, as it was afterwards called, 
the Greek Empire, began to recover from its lethargy, and to extend its 
conquests under the celebrated Justinian I., in 527. Belisarius, a 
Thracian peasant, the Africanus of new Rome, after passing through 
the various grades of military service, was appointed general of the 
East, where Cabades had attacked the imperial workmen employed 
in building a frontier fortress. The defeated Persians next menaced 
Armenia and Syria, when the fortune of Belisarius again prevailed. 
The sudden death of the Persian monarch and the succession of 
Chosroes, whose throne was in danger from a disinherited brother, 
changed the politics of the court of Ctesiphon, and the w;>r was 
suspended by a treaty of perpetual amity in 53*3, only to break out again 
eight years after, with results equally indecisive. Justinian, having, 
formed the design of reconquering the Roman provinces which had fallen 
into the hands of the barbarians, turned his views first on Africa, and 
Belisarius was intrusted with the supreme command of the expedition. 
The Vandals, taken by surprise, vainly strove to make head against his 
vigour and activity. Carthage surrendered without a blow ; and in the 
space of three months, the whole of Northern Africa was subdued, Geli- 
mer, the vanquished sovereign, gracing the captor's triumph* 534. The 



SIXTH CENTURY A. D. 175 

Gothic war of Italy was the next scene of his glory. After reducing 
Sicily, Belisarius landed without resistance on the southern shores of 
the Peninsula. Naples experienced all the horrors of war; and Rome 
was freed from the tyranny of sixty years without a blow, 536. The victor 
was in his turn shut up in the imperial city by an army of 150,000 men, 
under King Vitiges; who, although defeated in various bloody skir- 
mishes, obstinately persevered in the blockade, until forced to retire 
before the advancing succours headed by Antonina, the warlike consort 
of the Byzantine general, 538. His victorious career was checked by 
the intrigues of the court; he was recalled, and owed his safety to the 
services of his wife. 

His second command in Italy, 544, was not equally successful with 
the first. He failed in throwing troops and provisions into Rome, then 
closely pressed by Totila, and which suffered the horrors of war to such 
an extent that a parent flung himself despairing into the Tiber in the 
presence of his five children. Treachery at last opened the gates to 
him, 546, when but for the firm remonstrances of Belisarius, the savage 
conqueror would have changed the city into a pasturage for cattle. By 
a daring act of valour he recovered the capital with only 1000 horse, 
and thrice repulsed the Goths in their endeavours to retake it. After 
several Fabian campaigns he was recalled, 548 ; nor were his services 
again required till Constantinople was threatened by the Bulgarians, 
who, in alliance with the Southern Sclavonian tribes, had crossed the 
Danube on the ice, led by the ferocious Zeberkhan. Forty years of 
military service could not shelter Belisarius from false accusations of 
conspiracy against the emperor ; and his patriotism and devotion were 
ill requited by the confiscation of his property eight months before his 
death. He was followed to the grave by his envious master before the 
close of the same year. 565.* 

Consult : Lord Mahon's Life of Belisarius. 

Narses. — This rival of the fame of Belisarius had been educated 
among the females of the palace; but his talents becoming known, he 
was made the colleague of that general, on whose death he was appointed 
to the sole command of the Gothic war. He hastened to meet Totila, 
and after an ineffectual conference, the two armies engaged at Tagina>, 
near Rome, 552. The ardour of the barbarians was overcome by the 
decision and calmness of Narses ; they fled, leaving their general with 
6000 of his soldiers on the field. The victor had the honour of again 
sending the keys of Rome to Constantinople, which had been five times 
taken and recovered in one reign. The triumphal entry of the chamber- 
lain after the conquest of the Franks and Allemanni, was the last which 
the imperial city was to witness, 554. His provincial government 
:asted fifteen years, when he was recalled by Justin II., in compliance 
vith the demand of the senate, to which body he had become odious on 
lccount of his cupidity, 568. 

Factions of the Circus. — The peaceful competitions of the circus, 

* Tlie elegant French tale of Belisarius, aided by the well-known picture, has served 
to keep up the fictitious accounts of the last days of this renowned warrior. The loss of 
his eyes by the emperor's orders, and his being reduced to beg his daily bread, in the 
well-known phrase, Date obolum Bclisario, are the inventions of comparatively modern 
writers 



176 MIDDLE AGES. 

an amusement and excitement to the ancient Romans, degenerated into 
a mere factious exhibition under the unworthy successors of Augustus; 
and the blood}' contests in their streets were renewed with increased 
vigour in the Byzantine capital. In 501, the greens treacherously mas- 
sacred 3000 of their blue* adversaries ; and their dissensions were so 
violent over the whole country, as to threaten the stability of the empire. 
Neither churches nor private houses were free from their depredations; 
many victims perished nightly beneath the dagger of the assassin ; and 
tbe bonds of society and virtue were universally relaxed. A sedition 
bearing the name of JVika, was with difficulty suppressed, after a five 
days' struggle that nearly involved the city in conflagration, and cost the 
lives of more than 30,000 individuals. 

To the evils of war, which under Justinian afflicted nearly every pro- 
vince, were added still greater calamities. Earthquakes in 526 and 557 
occasioned dreadful havoc throughout the empire, and particularly in 
Syria. The plague devastated Europe and Asia; Constantinople lost 
more than 400,000 inhabitants ; entire countries were depopulated, and 
left without culture ; while famine was added to the severe scourges of 
war and contagion. The human race was thus considerably diminished. 
The empire, exhausted of men and of wealth, could not furnish Justinian, 
in his latter years, with more than 140,000 soldiers instead of 640,000. 
A new branch of industry commenced in this reign. Silk, which was 
in general use throughout the civilized world, had become exorbitantly 
dear, when two Persian monks succeeded in conveying from China to 
Europe some of the eggs of the silk-worm, which they had concealed in 
their hollow walking sticks. These they brought to Justinian who suc- 
cessfully established the manufacture of this article of luxury in his 
southern provinces. 

Justinian Code. — Justinian affected the title of a lover of the arts, and the 
church of St. Sophia, with about twenty-five others, decorated in a costly 
manner with marble and gold, were built in his reign ; but the reformation of 
the Roman law, carried on by his orders, and under the superintendence of the 
quaestor Tribonian, is his noblest monument. The Roman emperors at various 
periods published their edicts and their rescripts ; which huge mass of conflicting 
decisions was first arranged by the Gregorian and Hermogenian Codes, and 
both united in that of the younger Theodosius, 438. Fourteen months only 
were occupied by Tribonian and his nine associates in reducing the many thou- 
sands of volumes gradually accumulated during ten centuries into the twelve 
books or tables forming the Justinian Code, 529. The Pandects or Digest, 
an employment of three more years, contained the spirit of the civil law, 533. 
It was a compilation in fifty books of the Gregorian. Hermogenian. and Theo- 
dosian Codes, as well as of two thousand treatises on jurisprudence. The 
Institutes, forming a short elementary treatise on Roman law, divided into 
four parts, were published about the same time; these, with the Novels, a 
kind of supplement, constitute the whole body of Roman legislation. 

Justinian reigned thirty-eight years, and the perils of a disputed suc- 
cession were avoided by the promptness with which his nephew Justin 
II. assumed the purple, 5fi5. He revived the title of consul in his own 
person, liquidated the debts of his predecessor, and gave signs of a 
benevolent administration; but the disgrace of the chamberlain Narses 

* These two colours represented the two great religious parties; the Ariaus wore 
preen, while the blue party were the orthodox believers, and reckoned Justinian among 
their number. Thus religious fanaticism served to exasperate the quarrels of the circus. 



SIXTH CENTURY A. D. 177 

left both the Eastern and Western empires exposed to the restless bar- 
barians. About the same period the Avars and Turks sent ambassadors 
to Constantinople : the alliance proposed by the first he haughtily 
refused, and formed a league with the Turkish khan against the Persians. 
By their friendship with this chief, the mighty Disabul, " sovereign of 
the seven climates of the earth," the Komans were enabled to trade 
throughout all Central Asia. The progress of Chosroes was not, how- 
ever, arrested in Syria ; and at the same time Africa was ravaged, while 
Italy was lost to the empire. Notwithstanding the purity of Justin's 
intentions, his reign was miserable and unfortunate, not so much from 
his vices as from a physical debility which confined him to the palace, 
and rendered him a stranger to the wishes and complaints of his people. 
In 574, he had the magnanimity to associate Tiberius with him in the 
empire, and after four years of peaceful obscurity he expired. 

His successor showed himself worthy of his station, and in him Con- 
stantinople saw another Trajan. While he was engaged in repelling 
the Avars in Dacia, his generals gained over the Persians the victories 
of Melitene and Constantine. Maurice was rewarded with the hand 
of the daughter of Tiberius, and shortly after ascended the throne of his 
father-in-law, who on his death-bed had selected him as worthiest of its 
honours and duties, 582. Maurice, less fortunate as emperor than as 
general, was unable to maintain his Persian conquests The satrap 
Varanes (Bahrain), after having conquered the Turks, was penetrating 
into Asia Minor, when he was defeated by the Grecian troops. Being 
disgraced in consequence, he revolted against his sovereign, Chosroes 
II., whom he compelled to seek an asylum in the empire. The generous 
Maurice restored his enemy, and obtained by treaty the restitution of 
Varanes' conquests, 591. He next meditated the destruction of the 
Avars, whom Priscus defeated in five battles ; the victorious army, how- 
ever, revolted, and proclaimed the centurion Phocas, while a faction 
drove Maurice from his capital, and opened its gates to the usurper, 602. 

PERSIA. 

This empire had been at peace nearly a century under the Sassanian 
monarchs, whose domination had succeded, in 226, that of the Parthian 
or Arsacidan. The vicinity of the Nephtha] ite Huns settled on the Oxus, 
was a source of uneasiness to the great kings, and the necessity of 
checking their incursions turned most of their forces in this direction. 
This people had assisted Cabades in the recovery of the crown, which 
had been usurped by one of his brothers ; and not having the means of 
recompensing their services according to promise, he applied to the 
Emperor Anastasius for pecuniary aid. The request was insultingly 
refused, upon which war immediately broke out, and the Persians re- 
duced both Armenia and Colchis. The peace which followed was 
interrupted by the proceedings of Justin I., who had accepted the 
submission of the Lazi, a people tributary to Persia. Cabades was 
succeeded by Chosroes Nushirvan in 531. This great prince, who 
tranquillized his country, which had been a prey to anarchy and fanati- 
cism, received from his subjects the name of the Just, in consequence 
of the manner in which he administered the laws. He encouraged 
agriculture, was a patron of letters, founded a school of medicine near 



178 MIDDLE AGES. 

Susa,and directed the annals of the monarchy to be drawn up. He sent 
a learned physician, named Bidpai, into India, who brought back with 
him the fables still current as those of Pilpay, and the game of chess. 
Nushirvan attracted to his court several of the philosophers of the West. 
The news of Justinian's victories, and the discovery of a correspondence 
by which that prince was exciting the barbarians of the Oxus to invade 
Persia, induced Chosroes to take up arms, which he carried successfully 
to the shores of the Levant. On his return, he built a city near Ctesi- 
phon, in which the Syrian captives beheld the very image of one of 
their own towns; baths, a circus, and a body of musicians and 
charioteers, were added to complete its resemblance to a Grecian city. 
Chosroes transmitted his power to his son Hormisdas (Hormuz) 579, 
whose violent passions soon brought the empire to the verge of ruin. 
After a few years' reign, the tyrant had the effrontery to boast of having 
tortured to death no fewer than thirteen thousand victims. His govern- 
ment was weakened by the revolt of several provinces, when the Turks 
offered their perfidious aid. But a hero appeared to save the falling 
monarchy. Yaranes, (Bahrain), having collected a body of twelve 
thousand men, occupied a defile in Hyrcania, where he crushed the 
Turks. He next marched against the Romans, who were advancing in 
the direction of the Araxes, but was ruined by his own confidence and 
generosity. Hormisdas, jealous of his first successes, seized this oppor- 
tunity of humbling him, and sent a distaff with a woman's dress. The 
soldiers felt not less indignation at this insult than their general, and 
openly revolted. Bindoes, of the Sassanian family, was brought from 
the dungeon in which he had been confined by the tyrant's order, and 
putting the monarch in chains with his own hands, surrendered him to 
public judgment — a mode of proceding unknown in the annals of the 
East. His subjects unanimously condemned him ; his eyes were burnt 
out with a rod-hot iron, and his second son, in whose favour he had 
offered to abdicate, was torn in pieces. Chosroes II. (Khosru Purveez), 
the eldest prince, was placed on the throne, 590, and endeavoured to 
mitigate the condition of his father. Hormisdas was removed from his 
prison, but only to be exposed to the merciless bowstring of the impla- 
cable Bindoes. With the aid of the Emperor Maurice, Chosroes. who 
had flod to him for protection, was restored to his throne, and Varanes 
compelled to take refuse among the Turks, when sorrow and yexation 
hastened his death. Public rejoicings and executions marked the rees- 
tablishment of the lawful sovereign, who punished Bindoes, the assassin 
of his father. The Grecian emperor, was repaid by the cession of 
Martyropolis, Daria, and all Persarmenia. The Christians hoped that 
their religion would gain by this change ; but Chosroes remained faithful 
to the worship of the magi. 

ITALY. 

Theodoric. — This monarch, who laid the foundation of the kingdom 
of the Ostrogoths, had been educated as a hostage at the court of Con- 
stantinople. Having formally received the government of Ita'j from 
Zeno,he crossed the Alps with a large Gothic army, in 489, and defeated 
Odoacer near the ruins of Aquileia. He followed up his advantage by 
attacking Ravenna, to which the latter had fW with 20,000 men; and 
after a siege of almost three years, became King of Italy on the assassi- 



SIXTH CENTURY A. D. 17y 

nation of his unfortunate rival, 493. Following the example of the latter 
Caesars, he abode at Ravenna, and had his claim to the regal title 
formally recognised by the emperor. Little is known of the ieign of 
Theodoric, but that he preserved internal tranquillity, and was also 
honoured by the respect of foreign nations. Without quitting Italy, he 
added to his kingdom Illyria, Pannonia, Noricum, and Rhaetia. The 
Bavarians became tributary ; and many German tribes sought to be 
admitted to the privilege of living under his laws. He increased his 
territories by his war with the Burgundians and the Franks. He rebuilt 
the walls of Rome, restored the ruined theatre of Pompey, cleared and 
repaired the aqueducts and public baths, built a cathedral at Ravenna, 
and palaces at Verona and Pavia. The Roman police, customs, and 
laws were maintained ; and although himself an Arian, he in no instance 
oppressed the church which maintained the Nicene faith. The cruel 
deaths of Symmachus, 525, and Boethius, 526, have left a deep stain 
upon his character: and at length, after an active life, he sank, con- 
science-stricken, to the grave, 526, leaving the throne of Italy to 
Athalaric, under the regency of his mother Amalasontha. The empire 
of the Goths now fell to pieces ; the Visigoths of Spain refusing to 
recognise the infant king, elected Amalaric, son of Alaric II., whose 
power was acknowledged as far as the mouths of the Rhone. 

Totila succeeded to the throne in the year 541, his predecessor 
Vitiges having been led captive to Constantinople. He successfully 
resisted the attacks of eleven hostile generals, and even captured Rome, 
546. He fell in the battle of Taginae, and although Teias with his 
brother Aligern struggled manfully against their enemies, with him ter- 
minated the Gothic dominion in Italy, which now became a province of 
the empire, 552. The chamberlain Narses, by a prudent administration 
promoted, as we have seen, the wealth and tranquillity of the country ; 
but a fierce nation was rising near the Danube, which in 568 overran 
the greater part of the peninsula. 

The Lombards. — This German tribe, originally dwelling on the banks 
of the Oder, had been settled in Pannonia by Justinian in 527, as a 
barrier against other warlike nations. At the invitation, it is said, of 
the disgraced Narses, the whole people marched for Italy, and crossed 
the Julian Alps without resistance, 568. Alboin soon reduced all the 
country, except Rome, the exarchate of Ravenna, and a part of the 
eastern coast. Pavia, which he afterwards made the capital of his do- 
minions, resisted his arms during a three years' blockade. He did not 
live to reap the fruits of his successful enterprise, as he fell a victim to 
domestic treason. It was the custom of this savage people, on certain 
occasions, to quaff from the skulls of the enemies they had slain in 
battle. One day, when heated with liquor, he sent to his wife Rosa- 
mond the skull of her father filled with wine, requesting her to drink it. 
The insulted queen obeyed, but in a short time caused her husband to 
be assassinated, 573, and rewarded the murderer with her hand in mar- 
riage. After the violent death of Cleph, who had succeeded Alboin, the 
Lombard dukes allowed the throne to remain vacant, and substituted 
a federative government; but internal divisions and the necessity of 
union against the Greeks and Franks, brought them back to monarchical 
principles. Their kingdom, however, did not acquire stability until 
Autharis mounted the throne, 584, who, " touching with his spea- a 



180 



MIDDLE ACES. 



column on the sea-shore of Rhegium, proclaimed that ancient land-mark 
to stand the immovable boundary of his kingdom :" but a premature 
death removed him, 590, before he had time or means to make good this 
boast. In the reign of Agilulf, whom the widowed queen, Theolinda, 
had married, the nation enjoyed the sweets of peace for the first time; 
and the joint exertions of these two sovereigns, aided by Pope Gregory, 
propagated Christianity among the Lombards, encouraged agriculture, 
and commenced the civilisation of these savage people. 

Feudality. — The system of feudal polity received its first regular establish- 
ment and legislative provisions from the Lombards of Italy. Alboin had 
intrusted the command of several conquered districts to thirty-six dukes, who 
within two years after his death, became so many confederate independent 
princes. Apprehensive for their safety, when attacked by the Greek emperor 
and the Franks, they agreed to pay to the king each the half of his revenue, 
and to provide a body of troops to be placed at his disposal ; the duchies being 
liable to forfeiture tor felony, and revertible to the crown if no male heir (a 
major) were left. 

FRANCE. 

Clovis, a. d. 481. — At the age of fifteen, Clovis (properly Chlodwig 
or Ludwig, i. e. Louis) inherited the little kingdom of Tournay, in right 
of his father Childeric, the son of Meroveus. The Franks at this period 
were divided into Ripuarians and Salians. The country lying between 
the two streams of the Rhine, from Coblentz to Wesel or Cleves, formed 
the kingdom of the Ripuarian section, whose chief resided at Cologne 
The Salians (said by the learned Schoell to derive their name from the 
xiver Yssel) obeyed several chiefs, whose territories were respectively 
Terouenne-, Tournay, Cambray, and Mans. 

Beauvais, Soissons, Amiens, Troyes, and Rheims with their respective 
dependencies, were all that belonged to the Romans in Gaul. Syagrius 
acknowledged, in form only, the supremacy of the Byzantine emperors 
after Rome had fallen. Alsace and Lorraine belonged to the Allemanni, 
a Teutonic federation, which occupied also the country between the 
Rhine and the Moselle, with Swabia, Hesse, and a part of Franconia. 
Armorica, between the Mayenne and the sea, belonged to the Britons 
who had fled from their country at the approach of the Saxon invaders. 
The Burgundian establishments had increased, and in addition to 
Western Switzerland they occupied the valley of the Rhone as far as 
the Durance. The kingdom of the Visigoths lay on the left bank of 
the Loire. 

Clovis first directed his arms against Syagrius, and defeated him, 486, 
in a battle near Soissons, which city afterwards became the residence 
of the conqueror. The Roman general, who had sought refuge at the 
court of Toulouse, was given up by Alaric II. to the vengeance of the 
royal Frank. In 496, he repulsed the Alemanni with dreadful slaughter 
at Tolbiac (Zulpich, near Cologne), and compelled the cession of their 
territories between the Moselle and the Rhine, and on the right bank of 
the latter river, between the Maine and the Neckar. It was during this 
battle, when his soldiers were wavering, that he vowed to be baptized, 
if the God of his Christian wife Clotilda, niece of the Burgundian Gun- 
debald, should grant him the victory. Policy also was a motive for his 
conversion, as he thus attached to him by firmer bonds his new Gallic 
subjects, who were all believers. He was baptized in the cathedral of 



SIXTH CENTURY A. D 



181 



O 
o 

H 



W 



> 
© 

o 

o h 



3 
03 


3 


O 


H 




C3 






N3 




B 




d 










OT 


tn 




«o 


en 


OJ 


to 



S. S- « 




"3 

s 

w 
SB 

* o 



O 



o 3 



r< o 



a 

o 

E:?d 2. 
o 

00 £1 

* I 



■ CTQ 



H 

» 



16 



182 MIDDLE AGES. 

Rheims, with his sister and 3000 of his warriors ; at which time the 
Celestial oil, still used in the coronation of the kings of France, was said 
to have been brought down from heaven by a snow-white dove. The 
title of Most Christian Majesty, borne by the French monarchs, was 
conferred by Pope Anastasius on Clovis, who compelled Gundebald and 
the Britons of Armorica to pay him tribute. He next crossed the Loire ; 
and the battle of Vougle cost Alaric II. his life, 507. The Visigoths, 
however, recovered Septimania, which remained long united to the des- 
tinies of Spain ; the Franks kept Aquitania, and the Burgundians 
resumed their ancient frontiers. 

Returning from this expedition, the conqueror fixed his residence at 
Paris, where he inhabited the palace built by Julian. Here envoys from 
the Emperor Anastasius brought him the purple mantle and the golden 
crown, emblems of the patriciate, a title revered by the Gauls, as 
legitimatizing their obedience. On the death of Clovis in 511, his 
kingdom, like a personal estate, was divided among his four sons. 
Childebert had Paris; Thierry, Metz; Clodomir, Orleans; and Clo- 
taire, Soissons, with their respective territories. The history of these 
princes and their successors is a mournful tale of civil wars and assas- 
sinations, arising chiefly from the partition of the royal power at the 
death of each monarch. In 558, the supreme authority was re-united 
for a short period in the hands of Clotaire, whose dominions extended 
from the Pyrenees to the Bohemian mountains, and from the Zuyder 
Zee to the Mediterranean. 

Note. — The whole series of French monarchs has been divided into three 
races. The first or Merovingians began with Clovis, 481-750; the second or 
Carlovingians with Pepin, 751-987 ; the third or Capetians with Hugh Capet, 
987, to which belongs the reigning family of Bourbon- Orleans. 

Brunehaut and Fredegonde. — Clotaire, at his death, 561, left four 
sons, Sigebert I. king of Ostrasia,* Chilperic I. king of Soissons, Cari- 
bert of Paris, and Gontran of Orleans and Burgundy. The elements of 
discord arising from this partition were increased by the death of Cari- 
bert, whose estates were dismembered by his three brothers. The 
inequality of the shares occasioned a brief civil war, which terminated 
in the reconciliation of the inimical princes, and the double marriage of 
Sigebert with Brunehaut, and Chilperic with Gualsinda daughter of the 
Visigoth Athanagild. But the King of Soissons having put his wife to 
death that he might be united to her domestic, the sanguinary Frede- 
gonde, Brunehaut swore to avenge her sister, and to punish the woman 
who had usurped her place. ' These hostile feelings gave rise to an 
intestine war, which, during half a century, desolated France, and filled 
the royal house with crimes. The Ostrasians defeated the Neustrians 
at all points, and shut up Chilperic in Tournay. But an emissary of 
Fredegonde murdered Sigebert at the very moment he was proclaimed 
king of Neustria. The former prince regained his kingdom ; Brunehaut 
was detained a prisoner, and her young son Childebert, removed from 
the vengeance of Fredegonde, was taken back to Ostrasia, when the 
leudes or nobles were seizing on the government, 575. 

* Ostrasia (commonly written Austrasia) or East France (Oster-reich), was a province 
adjacent to the Rhine; Neustria, or New France, containing the kingdoms of Paris, 
Soissons, and Orleans, extended from Ostrasia to the Loire. A third division, Lorraine, 
the kingdom of Lothaire {Lotharii regnum) lay between the Rhine, the Meuse, and the 
Scheldt. 



SIXTH CENTURY A. D. 183 

Gontran, desirous of arresting the encroachments of Chilperic, adopted 
Childebert II., who forgot this kindness, and formed an alliance with 
the King of Soissons. Peace was, nevertheless, concluded; but Fre- 
degonde, to reign without control, procured the murder of her husband 
in 584, and governed under the name of her infant son, Clotaire II. 
The usual disorders and wars ensued, when, to arrange their discordant 
interests, and to prevent fresh troubles, Gontran, Childebert, and Brune- 
haut, in concert with their chief officers, drew up the famous treaty of 
Andelot, by which the King of Burgundy was confirmed in his succes- 
sion to the ruler of Ostrasia. Childebert did not long enjoy his uncle's 
inheritance ; his two sons, Theodebert II. and Thierry II. 59G, separated 
Ostrasia and Burgundy, so lately united. 

Frank Laws. 

The Salic laws are supposed to have been drawn up, about 421, by com- 
mand of a monarch of the Salian Franks.* The Ripuarian Franks, dwelling 
on the bank {ripa) of the Rhine, had also their code ; and the Burgundians 
their law of Gundebald, 502. By the first and most ancient of these laws, 
which may serve as a specimen of the rest, homicide was punished with fines 
varying from 50 to 600 pieces of gold. Questions of right and wrong were 
decided by judicial combats — a practice still subsisting in the modern duel. 
The conquered territory was equitably divided among the victors ; not in per- 
petuity, but yearly, on the condition of bearing arms in the common cause. 
Thus arose the peculiarity by which females were prohibited from inheriting 
landed estates, and, by a forced interpretation of its clauses, the crown of 
France can never descend but to a male heir. The prisoners of war became 
slaves ; the descendants of the haughty Romans were condemned to cultivate 
the fields and tend the cattle of their masters, who exercised over them a power 
of life and death, and made them a subject of traffic. t 

SPAIN. 

At the commencement of the fifth century, Spain had been invaded 
by the Suevi, Vandals, and Alans, who inflicted everywhere the most 
frightful ravages, so that we hear of the natives being compelled to feed 
on human flesh. The Suevi and Vandals occupied the ancient Galicia, 
comprising Old Castile and Leon ; hence arose the kingdom of the 
Suevi under Hermanric, a. d. 409. The Alans were spread over Lusi- 
tania, while another Vandal tribe took possession of Baetica ; the Tarra- 
conensis alone at this time belonging to the Romans. Ataulphus, after 
the settlement of the Visigoths in France in 412, crossed the Pyrenees 
two years later, and became the founder of the Gothic monarchy in 
Spain; but he was unable to subdue these various savage hordes, being 
stopped in his career by the hand of an assassin, 415. Wallia, having 
been proclaimed king, continued the plans of his predecessor, and forced 
the Alans to seek refuge among the Vandals. The Suevi were threaten- 
ed in their turn, but obtained favourable conditions of peace, and were 
allowed to remain in the north-west of the peninsula. Wallia's ser- 
vices were rewarded by part of Aquitaine, with the city of Toulouse, 
which was during the greater part of a century the Visigoth capital. 

* The Salic code begins with the following elaborate eulogy on the people by whom 
it was formed : — " Gens Francorum inclyta, auctore Deo condita, fortis in armis, firma 
pacis focdere, profunda inconsilio, corpore nobiliset incolumis, candore et forma egregia, 
audax, velox. aspera," &c. 

t See Guizot, History of French Civilisation, p. 333, &c. 



184 MIDDLE AGES. 

Theodoric, the next monarch, was killed in hattle against Attila at 
Chalons, 451. By Thorismond the frontiers of the kingdom were 
extended to the Loire, 456 ; while Euric, the murderer of his brother, 
expelled the Romans from Spain, and added to his possessions Berry 
and Auvergne, ceded to him by the Emperor Julius Nepos, and Pro- 
vence, which he obtained from Odoacer, 477. Such was the power of 
this monarch, that he received ambassadors from the Franks and Bur- 
gundians, from the Ostrogoths encamped in Pannonia, from Odoacer 
king of Italy, and from the Persian monarch. Under his son and suc- 
cessor Alaric II. the Goths lost, by the defeat near Poitiers in 507, all 
Gaul with the exception of Septimania. Gesalic, his natural son, was 
deposed by Theodoric the Great", the father-in-law of Alaric, who 
declared himself guardian of his grandchild Amalaric. This monarch 
reigned from 526 to 531 ; and by his outrageous behaviour to his wife 
Clotilda, daughter of Clovis, drew upon himself the vengeance of the 
Franks. Under Recarede, 586, all the people with their sovereign 
entered the bosom of the Catholic church, and allowed such privileges 
and influence to the bishops that the national assemblies soon became 
little more than ecclesiastical synods. About 570, the Suevi also em- 
braced the Christian faith. 

BRITAIN. 

Heptarchy. — The Jutes and Saxons, having once obtained a footing 
in Britain, were speedily followed by numerous tribes of adventurers ; 
and in a short time England was divided into seven kingdoms, called 
the Saxon Heptarchy,* which frequently acknowledged the sovereignty 
of one ruler, called Bret-walda — sovereign of Britain. The ancient 
inhabitants did not yield without resistance. King Arthur, who died in 
542, ruled over the Cornish Britons, and from his successful struggles 
against the invaders, became one of the favourite subjects of poetry and 
romance. The numerous colonies that emigrated to Armorica, to which 
they gave the name of Bretagne, spread his renown still more widely. 
But in spite of the services rendered to his countrymen, he was not 
without enemies among them ; the title of king reducing him to the 
necessity of drawing his sword against the Britons almost as frequently 
as against the Saxon invaders. He fell mortally wounded in battle 
against his own nephew, and was buried at Glastonbury. As the cir- 
cumstances of his death were not generally known, his re-appearance 
was long expected ; and for several ages the credulous people in their 
distress looked for the interposition of their brave deliverer. 

Saint Augustine. — About a. d. 560, the Anglo-Saxon occupation of 
a great part of Britain was completed, bringing with it the most terrible 
disasters to the native population. The ferocious conquerors extirpated 
the arts and religion of the inhabitants, and endeavoured by a promiscu- 
ous slaughter to depopulate the country. The language was entirely 
changed; civilisation perished ; and the people were fast relapsing into 
their original barbarism, when Gregory I. was induced to send mis- 
sionaries to convert the Saxons to Christianity, and to establish the 
supremacy of Rome, 596. St. Augustine failed in obtaining the sub- 

* This term conveys an erroneous idea, as at no one period were there seven distinct 
and independent kingdoms.— See Palgrave and Turner. 



SIXTH CENTURY A. D. 185 

mission of the nativeclergy to his church, but succeeded in extending 
the faith throughout all the Saxon tribes. Ethelbert, king of Kent, was 
baptized, chiefly at the suggestion of his wife Bertha, who was a Chris- 
tian, and the majority of the enslaved inhabitants, professed the same 
belief. From the British islands issued, in the seventh and eighth cen- 
turies, those courageous preachers who perfected in Germany the work 
commenced by Saint Rupert, bishop of Salzburg. Columba, Kilian, 
Wilfrid, Willebrod, and Swibert, were the precursors of Winifrid 
(Boniface), the great apostle of Germany. Winifrid was born in 
Devonshire, and after extending the temporal as well as spiritual limits 
of the church, the good bishop, with fifty of the companions of his 
labour, was put to death at Dokkum, in Friesland, 755. 

THE CHURCH. 

Among the chief conquests of evangelical truth during this period 
must be reckoned the conversion of the Franks and Saxons. The par- 
ticulars of the former event have been already given ; and to understand 
fully the account of the latter it will be necessary to subjoin a few 
remarks. The Anglo-Saxon conquest did not entirely obliterate the 
Christian faith which had been planted in Britain in the time of Ter- 
tullian and Origen, and had seen Alban, its proto-martyr, perish in the 
persecution of Diocletian. At the council of Aries in 314, the Bishops 
of York and London were present; but war and the influx of barbarians 
had produced the usual result, which was corrected by the mission of 
St. Augustine. The Vandals in Spain, the Burgundians in Gaul, and 
the Lombards in Italy, abandoned Arianism ; nevertheless heresy was 
still flourishing, particularly in the Eastern Empire, where the authority 
of the councils was exerted in vain. Three writings, known as the 
Three Chapters, had been published in the time of Nestorius in favour 
of his heretical opinions. Two of the authors had been present at the 
synod of Chalcedon ; and the third being dead, they had united with 
their colleagues in condemning the doctrines of Eutyches. The Euty- 
chians, in the hope of weakening the authority of that council, endea- 
voured to procure the condemnation of the three chapters; but, after 
numerous debates, another convocation was summoned at Constanti- 
nople, which censured all works really pernicious, and thus avoided 
any attack upon the assembly at Chalcedon. Its decisions were obeyed 
with the respect due to the learned men who drew them up, and by gen- 
eral consent the synod was regarded as the fifth general council. 

Gregory I. the Great. — This celebrated pope was sprung from a 
distinguished family; his grandfather Felix had filled St. Peter's chair 
before him, and saints were reckoned among the number of his female 
relatives. While nuncio at the Byzantine court, he boldly assumed a 
tone of independence, which his subsequent conduct did not belie. 
Being raised to the pontificate in 590, during more than fourteen years 
he assiduously watched over and advanced the interests of the church. 
Pelagius the Infallible had preceded him in 578 ; but Gregory, far from 
assuming any presumptuous title, even reproved the Greek patriarch 
(John the Faster) for calling himself the oecumenical or universal bishop, 
condemning it as devilish, humbly styling himself the servant of the 
servants of God. He revised the liturgy ; arranged the yarious details 
of the religious ceremonies ; and introduced the celebrated chant which 
16* 



186 MIDDLE AGES. 

bears his name. He established the ecclesiastical system by determin- 
ing in a fixed manner the proper ritual, the division of parishes, the 
calendar of festivals, the service and costume of the priests and deacons, 
and, finally, by arranging all the imposing orders of the Romish cere- 
monial. On the other hand, he burnt the Palatine library, and warred 
against the arts by destroying the temples and mutilating the statues 
which the Goths had spared. 

Benedictines. — In a. d. 527, St. Benedict of Nursia, in the Apen- 
nines, founded twelve convents near Subiaco in the neighbourhood of 
Rome, and next year the celebrated monastery of Mount Cassino, in the 
territory of Naples. Before his time, each fraternity had its peculiar 
customs ; he created the real statutes of the order. His simple and 
edifying rule, besides prescribing prayer, manual labour, study, and the 
instruction of youth, enjoined the three vows of poverty, chastity, and 
obedience. The administration and discipline of each community were 
intrusted to an abbot, chosen from the society by the free suffrages of 
the monks. In 595, Gregory accorded the apostolic sanction, permitting 
the inmates to possess an oratory, and to enjoy the spiritual labours of 
a priest taken from the bosom of their fraternity. In time, most of the 
cenobites entered the priesthood, without renouncing their condition. 
The Nicene council of 787 conferred on the abbots the right of admit- 
ting monks into the inferior orders of the clergy. 

The Benedictines were industrious and charitable men. In the midst 
of deserts they reared convents, the asylum of misfortune in an age of 
brutal violence and rapine. The active inhabitants tilled the earth, 
drained marches, cleared forests; hamlets,, villages, and considerable 
towns sprang up around their walls ; and in the convents were deposited 
the literary treasures of antiquity, which in many instances were indebted 
to them for preservation. 



SEVENTH CENTURY. 



Greek Empire. — 602, Phocas. — 610, Heraclius. — 622, Chosroes defeated. — 
672, Constantinople besieged by the Saracens. — 685, Justinian II. 

Persia. — 618, Chosroes, d. 

Arabia. — 570, Mohammed born. — 622, Hegira. — Koran; Son?ia. — 634, Omar. 
— 640, Alexandrian Library burnt. — 660, Ommiades. 

Italy. — 643, Lombard Code. — 697, Venice — First sole Doge, Anafesto. 

France. — 613, Clotaire.— 678, Pepin.— 688, Sluggard Kings— Mayors of the 
Palace. 

Spain. — 600, Christian Religion introduced. 

The Church. — 606, Papal Supremacy ; (Ecumenical — Image Worship. 

Literature. — Fortunatus; Isidore of Seville ; Gregory the Great. 

Inventions. — Quills for writing. — Chess in India. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Phocas, a. d. G02, repulsive in person as well as in character, com- 
menced his tyranny by the massacre of all the imperial family. Maurice 
was dragged from the sanctuary in which he had taken refuge, and his 



SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 187 

five son J were murdered before his eyes; after which the heads of the 
deposed monarch and his children were exposed on the walls of Con- 
stantinople. The wife of the emperor was afterwards decapitated with 
her three daughters in the place which had witnessed the murder of her 
husband. Every province was ripe for rebellion, which was encouraged 
and headed by Priscus, Maurice's son-in-law, and by Heraclius, exarch 
of Africa. A fleet from Carthage boldly sailed up to Constantinople, 
and in a short time the cruel despot, by his death, paid the penalty of his 
crimes. 

Heraclius, the deliverer of the empire, was elected to the vacant 
throne, a. d. 610 ; and soon after was compelled to turn his attention to 
the Persian war. Ciiosroes II. had been forced by internal dissension 
to take refuge in Constantinople ; but, aided by Narses, he defeated his 
rivals and recovered his crown, 591. At a later period, simulating dis- 
gust at the crimes of Phocas, he made war upon the Greeks, overran 
the country westward of the Euphrates, and conquered Syria, 611. 
Palestine was subdued in 614; and twenty-six thousand Jews, who 
followed his banners to attack Jerusalem, are said to have massacred 
ninety thousand Christians. 

The victorious career of the Persian monarch reduced Heraclius to 
great distress, which was increased by the devastations of the Avars, 
who nearly succeeded in taking his capital, 619; and in their retreat 
carried off 270,000 captives. A series of misfortunes had so depressed 
the spirit of Heraclius that he meditated the removal of the seat of 
government to Carthage ; but the patriarch was opposed to the change, 
and the empire was saved by the liberality of the clergy. Peace was 
made with Chosroes on ignominious terms, — the annual payments of 
1000 talents of gold, and the same amount of silver, silken robes, horses, 
and fair maidens. Fortune now deserted the Persian arms, when the 
emperor, in six adventurous campaigns, beginning in 622, retrieved his 
own honour and that of his country. Boldly carrying the war into the 
enemy's territories, he landed a numerous and enthusiastic army in 
Cilicia, and defeated Chosroes. The vanquished prince was compelled 
to recall his armies to defend their own country, and the rapid conquests 
of Heraclius may remind us of Hannibal or Napoleon. The battle of 
Nineveh, 627, fought on the ground once covered by that remarkable 
city, w T as followed next year by an honourable peace, concluded with 
Siroes, the successor of Chosroes who had been deposed by his subjects, 
and compelled to witness the murder of his eighteen sons. The return 
of the conqueror to Europe was one continued triumph. Ambassadors 
from the Franks and from India came to offer their congratulations; but 
the empire was exhausted by these victories ; and in order to repay the 
sums advanced by the church, it was necessary to raise a second time 
from the devastated provinces the amount of taxes which had been 
already paid. Two hundred thousand soldiers had perished ; and at the 
same time there appeared on the frontiers of Syria an enemy more ter- 
rible than any that had hitherto menaced the empire. 

Heraclius, attacked by the Mussulmans in 632, lost Syria and Egypt; 
and the emperor terminated his reign by a theological discussion and a 
religious war. His death, in 641, was hastened by intelligence of the 
capture of Alexandria, which event he survived only a few weeks. 
Seven rulers of the Heraclian family successively mounted the throne, 



1S8 MIDDLE AGES. 

which they stained less by bloodshed than by personal vice. The first 
was Constantine III., whose hundred days of empire were terminated 
by poison, and Heracleonas succeeded, only to be deposed, before the 
year expired, in favour of Constans II., 641. Ascending the throne 
when scarcely twelve years of age, he thus addressed the senate: — 
" By Divine Providence, .Martina and her incestuous progeny have been 
driven out; and I exhort and beseech you to stand forth as the coun- 
sellors and judges of the common safety." But the murder of his 
brother Theodosius proved that these sentiments were not very deeply 
seated. The astonished people and army drove this second Cain into 
exile, when, odious to himself and mankind, he perished at Syracuse by 
the hand of a slave, 668. Constantine IV. (Progonatus) put out the 
eyes of his two brothers, and left the crown to Justinian II., a vicious 
and foolish boy, who dishonoured his name by his cruelties, and by the 
choice of the ministers of his pleasures. For ten years he filled the city 
and country with sounds of horror, when Leontius, who had been 
released from a tedious imprisonment, and raised to the government of 
Greece, headed a successful revolt. "Christians! to St. Sophia's!" 
was the cry ; and there the patriarch delivered an inflammatory discourse 
on the text — "This is the day of the Lord!" Justinian was deposed, 
and, after mutilation, exiled to Chersonae, in the Crimea, 695, where he 
learnt that his successor had been dethroned in his turn, and Tiberius 
(Jpsimar) elevated in his stead, 698. He therefore renewed his claim 
to the empire; and, uniting with the Bulgarians, appeared before the 
capital with 15,000 horse, and was restored without striking a blow. 
His revenge was sweeping: the Chersonites, who had displeased him 
during his exile, were devoted to slaughter — "All are guilty, and all 
must equally perish," being his savage mandate. The nobles were 
executed at their own doors, drowned in sacks, or killed by pouring 
molten lead down their throats. Johannicius of Ravenna was permitted 
to write his will with his own blood : " Oh God ! deliver us from the 
tyrant!" was all he wrote, before he dashed his brains out against the 
wall. The patience of his subjects became exhausted; the troops and 
provinces renounced their allegiance; Justinian fell by the stroke of an 
assassin ; and with his son Tiberius, who had vainly taken refuge in a 
church, perished the family of Heraclius, 711. 



PERSIA. 

Chosroes II. — Under the pretence of avenging Maurice, Chosroes 
invaded the Byzantine provinces of Asia, 603. Syria and Palestine 
yielded to his arms ; Pelusium, the key of Egypt, capitulated ; and the 
Persian trophies were fixed on the ruins of the Greek colony of Cyrene. 
Another army advanced to the Thracian Bosphorus ; Chalcedon was 
taken after a long siege; and the Persian army encamped for more than 
ten years in sight of Constantinople. If Chosroes had possessed a fleet 
it would have been difficult to assign bounds to the progress of his vio 
torious arms. Yet the difference of manners and language, the intoler 
ance of the magi and schismatic Christians who followed in his train,- 
were an inseparable barrier between the conquered and the conquerors, 
and would soon have shattered to pieces the mightiest empire. He 
himself appeared to mistrust the stability of his power, by exhausting 



SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 189 

the tributary nations with heavy exactions, and transporting into Persia 
all the riches of the vanquished provinces. 

At the end of six years, Chosroes demanded a large sum as the con- 
dition of abandoning- the siege of the Grecian capital ; but the inhabitants, 
finding courage in their despair, resolved to employ their means in com- 
bating rather than in enriching their enemies. The victories of Heraclius 
have been already described, the results of which were the capture of 
the Persian treasures, the recovery of three hundred standards, and the 
delivery of a numerous body of prisoners in 627. The fugitive did not 
think himself secure until he had placed the Tigris between him and 
the Romans. But his pride was not yet completely humbled : his 
obstinacy irritated the Persians ; and Siroes, one of his sons, conspired 
with the discontented to seize the throne, to the prejudice of his younger 
brother, who had been appointed successor. Chosroes was deposed ; 
and, as has been already stated, eighteen of his children were put to 
death before his eyes; and he himself died in prison at the end of five 
days, 628. With him ended the glory of the Sassanides. His unna- 
tural son enjoyed the fruits of his crime only eight months; and eight 
competitors assumed the kingly title within four years. This anarchy 
continued eight years longer, until the country was subdued by the 
Arabs. 

To Chosroes belongs the distinction of restoring the ancient limits of 
the Persian monarchy from the Hellespont to the Nile, and thus con- 
tributing indirectly to the propagation of Mohammedanism. His 
magnificence rivalled that of Xerxes. Nine hundred and sixty elephants, 
with 20,000 camels, and 6000 horses, w r ere maintained for the transport 
of his baggage, or for the pleasures of the chase. Eighteen thousand 
guards in succession were stationed within and around his palace. 
Forty thousand plated columns with a thousand golden globes supported 
the roof of his palace ; and a hundred vaults were filled with gold, silver, 
precious stones, and all the subsidiaries of luxury and refinement. 

ARABIA. 

At the beginning of this century the Arabian peninsula became the scene of 
a remarkable revolution, the effects of which may still be traced over great part 
of two continents, and some of the fairest portions of Europe. Remote from 
the civilized world, that country was scarcely known but as the land of spices 
or of frankincense ; and the inhabitants, with few brief exceptions, continued 
to preserve their independence. They were a hardy, hospitable people, nursed 
to habits of war by the discipline of a pastoral life. In their native deserts they 
are invincible ; and the legions of Napoleon as well as those of Augustus found 
in them an untiring enemy. The various tribes are independent, but unite in 
periods of emergency under some popular sheik or chief. They, particularly 
the Bedouins, are robbers by profession ; stranger and enemy being with them, 
as among the ancient Romans, synonymous terms. Their language is exceed- 
ingly copious ; their poems, tales, and proverbs proclaim their wit and fancy. 
Sabaism, or the worship of the heavenly bodies, was the prevailing superstition ; 
and the temple or Caaba* of Mecca was known even to the Greek writers. 

* Arabian traditions relate that Jshmael took up his abode and built a temple on the 
spot where the angel showed the fountain to his wearied mother. This is the famous 
Caaba, the centre of Mussulman worship, the point to which every Mohammedan turns 
at his devotions, in what part soever of the world he may be. The well of Zem-zem, 
near the temple, is said to be the well of Hagar; and there is still to be seen on a black 
stone what is called the imprint of Abraham's feet. Around the Caaba the town of 
Mecca was formed by the children of Ishmael and the concourse of devotional strangers. 



190 3IIDDLK AGES. 

Their altars were sometimes polluted by human sacrifices. The revolutions of 
surrounding nations had driven many peaceable men to seek the Arabian 
deserts, in search of that quiet which the Byzantine court was unable to afford 
them. Six hundred years before Mohammed, Jews had settled in that coun- 
try ; and the Himyarite kings of Yemen had embraced the Jewish religion at 
the commencement of the fourth century a. d. The Bible was already trans- 
lated into Arabic, and the Christians successively retiring from persecution, 
carried with them and propagated their peculiar tenets. Thus was the way 
prepared for the daring impostures of the Prophet. 

Of the early history of Arabia little is known : Alexander the Great 
aspired to its sovereignty, and a Greek colony can yet be traced among 
the hills in the island of Socotra. The efforts of Augustus and Trajan 
to subdue it were in vain. About a. d. 50, Mareb, the chief town of the 
Sabaeans, — the ruins of which may still be seen, — was swept away by 
the bursting of an artificial lake formed in an elevated valley towards 
the north-west. In 529, the Negush of Abyssinia invaded and reduced 
the country, governing it by means of deputies. But Arabia soon 
recovered from it? misfortunes, though their effect is still perceived in 
Europe. The conquerors introduced the smallpox, which subsequent 
intercourse propagated through the world. Its visitations at first were 
dreadful „nough rare ; and nearly one hundred years elapsed before it 
reached Italy and Germany. 

Mohammed, a. d. 570, sprung from the tribe of Koreish and the 
family of Hashem, the hereditary guardians of the Caaba, was the only 
son of Abdallah and the Jewess Amina. In early life he was bereaved 
of his parents ; and, after spending many years in the Syrian caravans, 
at the age of twenty-five he entered the service of the rich widow Cadi- 
jah, whom he afterwards married. His person was majestic ; and, with 
a countenance that charmed all beholders, he possessed no common vein 
of eloquence. He was not less an enthusiast than an impostor ; and 
from his early youth had been in the habit of retiring to solitary caverns 
for the purpose of meditation, where he formed that mighty scheme of 
fraud, which, under the name of Islamism, he at length proclaimed to 
the world, 609. His wife and one or two others of his family were his 
first converts ; three years elapsed before he had increased their number 
to fourteen. Twelve years had passed before they were augmented to 
six score, when the hostility of the Koreish compelled him to leave 
Mecca. This " flight" to Yatreb, under the name of the Hegira, be- 
came the memorable epoch of Mohammedan nations, dating from Friday, 
16th July, a. d. 622.* Acclamations of loyalty and devotion hailed the 
entry of the prophet into the city, which afterwards received the name 
of Medina, or the City of the Prophet. Here he began to exercise at 
once the regal and sacerdotal authority, and to be worshipped as a 
superior being. " I have seen," said an astonished ambassador from 
Mecca, " Chosroes of Persia, and the Caesar of Rome, but never did 1 
behold a king among his subjects like Mohammed among his com- 
panions." War was soon declared against all infidels, and the doctrine 

* To reduce the Mohammedan to the Christian era: — Multiply the years elapsed by 
970,203 ; cut off 6 decimals ; add 622.54. and the sum will be the year of the Cnristian 
era, and decimal of the day following, in old style. 

To reduce the Christian era to the Mohammedan .-—Subtract 022 from the current year ; 
multiply by 1.0307; cut off four decimals, and add .4ti: the sum will be the year and 
decimal of the day, old style. 



SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 191 

proclaimed that the sins of every one who fell in battle would be for- 
given. Blinded by prosperity, he had the audacity to summon the most 
powerful monarchs of the earth to embrace Islamism ; and we are told 
that when a Roman magistrate in Syria put to death one of his ambas- 
sadors, he did not hesitate to fall upon an army of 30,000 men with a 
small body of undisciplined troops. With an inconsiderable force he 
attacked the Koreish, and defeated them in several battles, 625. Four 
years afterwards, Mecca submitted to his arms, and the whole peninsula 
shortly after yielded to the " apostle of God." Nor was the ambition 
of Mohammed confined to the narrow limits of Arabia, for he was on the 
point of entering on a new career, when a languishing disease recalled 
him from the Syrian frontiers. Perceiving the approach of death, he 
boldly submitted his past life to the scrutiny of his people, saying, " If 
there be any man whom I have unjustly scourged, I submit my own 
back to the lash." At the age of sixty-three, the great impostor was 
removed from the earth, in 632. The caliphs, as his successors were 
called, in less than one hundred years, spread their conquests and their 
creed, from India to the Atlantic Ocean, — over Persia, Syria, Egypt, 
Africa, and Spain. 

The Koran. — The religious doctrines of Mohammed are contained in the 
Koran. The Book, for such is its title, is filled with stories from the Old Tes- 
tament and parables borrowed from the New. He asserted that it was brought 
in fragments from heaven by the angel Gabriel, and appealed to the pure 
classical style of the work as a proof of its divine origin. It comprises a mass 
of tales, visions, discourses, laws, precepts, and counsels, in which truth and 
falsehood, the sublime and the ridiculous, meet side by side. Each sura 
(chapter) bears the superscription — "In the name of the kind and merciful 
God." The first verse is always preceded by three mystical initial characters, 
whose meaning the Moslem theologians dare not penetrate. Mistaken in his 
opinions of the Trinitarian doctrine, and deluded by the image-worship of the 
Eastern Christians, the author declaims often against their polytheism and 
idolatry. " In what consists Islamism ?" asked an angel in the guise of a Be- 
douin. " To profess," replied Mohammed, " that there is but One God, and 
that I am his prophet ; to observe strictly the hours of prayer ; to give alms ; to 
fast in the month of Ramadan ; and to make the pilgrimage to Mecca." " It 
is so in truth," said Gabriel, making himself known. 

Mohammed called his religion Islam (resignation to the will of God), and 
excluded all others under the pretence that its founder was the last and greatest 
prophet sent from God ; by whom the law of Moses and of Jesus was perfected 
and accomplished ; — and that as Christ abrogated the Jewish religion, so did 
the son of Abdallah the Christian. Five times in the twenty-four hours do the 
Mussulmans (the saved) repeat their prayers, turning their faces towards Mecca ; 
and during the monthly fast of the Ramadan they abstain from eating and 
drinking while the sun is above the horizon. Friday is their day of public 
worship. The resurrection, the day of judgment, and fatalism are part of their 
creed. After the day of judgment, the good and bad have to cross a narrow 
and perilous bridge (al Sirat) over the abyss ; the former being upheld by 
angels, the latter falling headlong into the first of the seven hells. The right- 
eous, being admitted into the seventh heaven, near the throne of God, will 
recline on the softest couches, be fed with the most delicious food, clothed in 
the richest garments, and waited upon, each by seventy-two black-eyed houris 
of resplendent beauty, youth, and purity. The doctrine of predestination was 
skilfully employed by Mohammed to advance his designs, encouraging his fol- 
lowers to combat without fear, on the assurance that no caution could avert their 
fate or prolong their lives one moment. Polygamy was authorized by the 
Koran, although it reduced within certain limits a custom prevailing in Asia 
many ages before his time. Besides allowing four legitimate wives, a les% 
formal marriage was also permitted. 



192 MIDDLE AGES. 

The Arab legislator inculcated tolerance towards the Christians, Jews, and 
Persian disciples of Zoroaster ; but this was always purchased by a kind of 
capitation-tax. 

Consult : Preface to Sale's Koran ; Gibbon's Decline and Fall. 

The Caliphs. — Four caliphs were successively elected to occupy 
the seat of Mohammed, by the suffrages of the leaders of Islamism. 
Abubeker, chosen in 032, gave the signal for a holy war, in fulfilment 
of the vow of the prophet, who had summoned all true believers to the 
conversion of the infidels. Omar, the second caliph, 634, saw the three 
great countries bordering on Arabia submit to its yoke ; in the caliphate 
of Othman, 644-655, these conquests were made permanent, and the 
power of the Arabs received a new lustre from their first naval victories. 
The virtuous Ali seemed destined to put the legislation of the prophet 
in harmony with the extent of the Mussulman dominion; but the five 
years of his reign were troubled by civil war, and, like his two prede- 
cessors, he fell beneath the blow of a fanatic, who thus unintentionally 
'confirmed the triumph of the rebel Moawiyah, and the establishment -of 
an hereditary dynasty, 660. 

Conquest of Syria, a. d. 632. — Under the direction of Abubeker, 
two armies issued from the Arabian peninsula ; one of them marched 
into Syria, the other, under the command of Khaled, surnamed the 
Sword of God, advanced towards the Euphrates. Abu Obeidah, at the 
head of the former, crossed the Jordan, and besieged Bostra with the 
fanatic cry of " Fight! fight ! Paradise ! paradise !" The town fell, and 
Damascus was attacked. Heraclitus, roused by a sense of danger, 
ordered an army of 70,000 men to hasten to the defence of this city 
But these succours were in vain ; for, after an obstinate engagement at 
Aiznadin, the imperial forces were utterly routed, and Damascus was 
taken after a siege of seventy days, 634. Jerusalem, having been 
closely blockaded during four months, capitulated, 637, and the conquest 
of Syria was almost immediately achieved. 

Taking of Arrestan. — This city was reduced by Abu Obeidah, in 
a manner that will forcibly remind the classical student of the wooden 
horse by which Troy fell. He requested and obtained leave of the 
governor to deposit in the citadel some old lumber which impeded the 
rapidity of his march. Twenty large boxes were filled with men, and 
carried into the castle : the general then marched away, leaving only 
Khaled with some chosen troops in the neighbourhood to act in concert 
with the adventurers. While the Christians were returning thanks for 
the departure of their enemy, the soldiers removed the sliding bottoms 
of the chests, and made their way out. The sentries being overpower- 
ed, the great church was surprised and converted into a garrison. 
Khaled came to their assistance as soon as he heard the appointed 
signal ; and the towm was taken without further opposition.* 

Reduction of Egypt, a. d. 638-640. — Amrou, a man of mean birth, 
but of great ability, was commanded to invade Egypt. Having already 
distinguished himself in the Syrian campaign, he now boldly, at the 
head of only 4000 Arabs, took Pelusium and invested Memphis. The 
siege was protracted for seven months, when the city was taken by 
assault ; and on its ruins, or rather on those of the suburb of Babylon 

* Ockley's History of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 185 



SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 193 

on the eastern bank of the Nile, was built the modern city of Cairo, or 
the Victory. The submission of the Coptic Christians enabled the 
invaders to turn their arms against Alexandria, the reduction of which 
was the most important enterprise in the whole of the Arabian contests. 
After a siege of fourteen months, and the loss of 23,000 men, the cres- 
cent of Mohammed was raised above the Cross, 640. We are told that 
Amrou found in the city 4000 palaces, 4000 baths, 400 theatres, with 
40,000 tributary Jews. The lives of the inhabitants were spared ; but 
in the destruction of the celebrated library, by the express command of 
Omar, we have to regret the " irreparable wreck of the learning, the 
arts, and the genius of antiquity." The possession of Egypt led to the 
conquest of Northern Africa; though sickness and want of provisions 
compelled the Mussulman forces to retreat after a successful expedition 
in Cyrenaica and Tripolitana. 

Cyprus, Rhodes,* and the Cyclades were conquered, 653 ; in the 
East the Mohammedans advanced to the Euphrates, the Tigris, and 
beyond these barriers even to the Oxus, thus completing the subjugation 
of Persia, 652. 

Ommiades. — As soon as Ali was proclaimed caliph, a. d. 656, he 
resolved to subdue the Ommiades, whose ambition had given him 
umbrage, and displaced Moawiyah, the chief of the family, from the 
government of Syria. This prince refused obedience to the order, and 
assuming the title of Emir of the Believers, marched against the legiti- 
mate caliph. During one hundred and ten days, the two armies con- 
tended almost incessantly ; and the victory was yet doubtful, when three 
fanatics swore to put an end to the civil war by assassinating Ali, 
Moawiyah, and Amrou. Ali alone perished, and by his death left the 
sceptre to his rival. His two sons Hassan and Hosscin, bore the title 
of caliphs, and their descendants were regarded by the Mussulmans of 
Persia as the only legitimate successors of the prophet ; but the 
Ommiades did not the less inherit the power. This revolution was fol- 
lowed by another; and the caliphate became hereditary instead of 
elective, 660. 

Mohammedan Sects. — The dissension between Ali, the prophet's son-in- 
law, and the first three caliphs, gave birth to a schism which yet disturbs the 
unity of Islam. The one party are called Sonnites, because to the Koran they 
add the Sonna (tradition), another collection of laws and precepts which fell 
from the lips of Mohammed. t They respect the memory of Abubeker, 
Othman, Omar, aud Ali, but assign the lowest degree of sanctity to the last. 
The Turks belong to this sect. The other party are called Sheeahs (schis- 
matics), recognising the authority of the Koran alone, and consider Ali as the 
vicar of God. not inferior to the prophet himself. The Arabians and Persians 
hold the opinions of this sect. 

Moawiyah transferred the seat of empire to Damascus, a. d. 661, and 
to gain some popularity to his dynasty, recommenced war against the 
infidels. The Africans had been already compelled to pay tribute to 
their conquerors ; but when the emperor wished to impose another by 

* The ruins of the celebrated Colossus, or statue of Apollo, after they had Iain scat- 
tered on the ground eight centuries, were collected and sold by the Saracens. The 
weight of the metal is said to have laden 900 camels. 

t The Sonna or oral law was first committed to writing by the pious Al Bochari, about 
a. d. 800. In Ockley's History of the Saracens, the reader will find many pathetic stories 
of the calamities of Ali and his sons. 
17 



194 MIDDLE AGES. 

way of fine, the assistance of the Arabs was implored against this 
tyranny. In 605, the Greeks were defeated and lost eighty thousand 
men. The Arabs had now begun to form a navy, and were eminently 
successful in their early maritime expeditions. Six times their fleets 
appeared before Constantinople, but were as often repelled by the terri- 
ble Greek lire. These armaments having exhausted the resources of 
the caliphate, Moawiyah solicited peace, which was granted on his con- 
senting to pay a tribute of fifty horses, as many slaves, and three thou- 
sand purses of gold, 677. At his death, three years afterwards, a civil 
war broke out ; but the unity of the empire was re-established by the 
devotion of the brave Hegiage, who destroyed successively all the ene- 
mies of the house of Ommiyah. Under Abdel Malek, India was con- 
quered ; and during the government of his son Walid I. communications 
were opened with China, — a circumstance that should be kept in mind, 
since it is probable that from the latter country the Arabs derived part 
of their knowledge in science and manufactures. The writers of that 
nation are the first who make mention of a spirit extracted from rice, of 
tea, porcelain, and other Chinese commodities. 

Africa Reduced. — The unsettled state of affairs interrupted the war 
in Africa twenty years ; but in 692, Hassan, governor of Egypt, com- 
menced a series of expeditions, which reduced the whole northern coast; 
and about the end of the century, the fearless Akbah spurred his horse 
into the waves of the Atlantic, sighing, like another Alexander, for 
new worlds to conquer. Carthage fell in 698, and Africa was irre- 
coverably lost to the Greek empire ; but the wandering tribes of Bar- 
bary did not submit so easily to a new government which threatened 
their independence. Their Queen Kahina forced Hassan to retire ; nor 
was it till the death of this heroine that any advantage was gained by 
the Arabian forces. Musa completed the conquest of this part of Africa ; 
and by degrees the inhabitants, deserting Christianity, embraced the 
religion of a people who, by their similarity of manners, encouraged 
the belief of a common origin. 

ITALY. 

From a. d. 568, the peninsula was divided between the Lombard 
kingdom and the exarchate of Ravenna, w r hich still acknowledged the 
authority of the Byzantine emperors.* The Lombard sovereigns were 
virtuous and able; peace and happiness adorned their government; and 
Italy began to recover from the devastations of the two preceding cen- 
turies. A brief period of discord led to the accession, in 636, of 
Rotharis, duke of Brescia, who signalized his reign by his conquests 
and his code of laws. The prudence of this king was shown in his 
respect to religious affairs; the Arianism wiiich he professed not making 
him unjust to his orthodox subjects. After his death in 652, the Lom- 
bard monarchy w r as agitated by ambitious dukes who coveted or usurped 

* The exarchate, properly so called, contained the cities of Ravenna, Bologna, Iniola, 
Faenza, Ferrara. Adria, Gommachio, and Forli. with the Pentapolis, or that territory 
which included Ancona, Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, and Sinigaglia. It was governed by ail 
exarch invested with civil and military authority; under him various dukes ruled in 
Rome, Gaeta, Naples, Syracuse, and other great cities of the Peninsula, Dalmatia, and 
the Italian Islands. This state of affairs continued until the first half of the eighth 
century, when the quarrel between the iconoclasts and the ambition of Astolplms 
wrought important changes in the condition of Italy. 



SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 195 

the c;own, and threatened by the Emperor Constans II., who wished to 
re-establish the seat of empire in Italy. 

Doge of Venice. — About a. d. 697, the inhabitants of the Adriatic 
isles assembled at Heraclea, and elected Paulo Anafesto duke, with the 
insignia of royalty, without however rejecting the supremacy of Con- 
stantinople. By subsequent limitations, the power of the doge was 
reduced within very narrow bounds, and his office became a sort of ducal 
mayoralty for life. In authority he was merely a counsellor ; in the 
city, a prisoner of state, and out of it, only a private person. The 
great council of 480 citizens was principally composed of men of high 
birth, and invested with the appointment of their head and all the 
inferior magistracies. The senate consisted of the sixty Pregadi, the 
forty judges, the college of Savii, the council of ten, and formed an 
intermediate body between the nobles and the executive. They imposed 
taxes, and declared war or concluded peace. The three state inquisi- 
tors were superior to all the citizens, not excepting even the doge. 
Criminal justice was administered by a tribunal of forty, annually 
chosen from the great assembly. By the laws of 1296 (the Serralura 
del Consiglio), 1298, and 1300, all those who had not been in the great 
council within the four preceding years, were for ever debarred from 
election to that assembly, thus establishing an exclusive hereditary 
aristocracy. Much discontent was manifested at these proceedings, and 
several insurrections took place with the object of framing a more popu- 
lar form of government. Such is a meagre outline of an avowed aris- 
tocracy which governed larger territories and endured a longer period 
than any other upon record. Already at this early period Venice had 
its fleets, and these she placed at the service of the Exarch Eutychius, 
to aid in driving the Lombards from their more recent conquests, by 
which they became unwelcome neighbours both to the republic and to 
Rome. 

Read ; Spalding's Italy and the Italian Islands, 3 vols., in the Edinburgh 
Cabinet Library. 

FRANCE. 

Clotaire II., a. d. 613. — The disputed succession of Alsace led to 
a civil war between Thierry and Theodebert, in which the latter, after 
having been defeated at Tolbiac in 612, was decapitated by order of his 
brother, by whom he was followed to the grave in the subsequent year. 
Brunehaut, seconded by the patrician Protadius, vainly endeavoured to 
maintain one of the sons of Thierry on the throne ; for Clotaire gained 
the ascendency, and won over the Ostrasian leudes, whom the queen 
had exasperated by her violent opposition to their claims. This ao-ed 
female was surrendered to the mercy of the son of Fredegunde, and by 
him put to death with barbarous cruelty. In 613, Clotaire re-united the 
different, members of the monarchy, and by an edict issued from the 
national assembly held at Paris, he reformed the kingdom, and gave 
securities for the public peace, which was not again broken during his 
reign. 

Mayors of the Palace. — The mayor of the palace (major domus) 
was originally what his title signified — the chief of the king's domestics. 
Under princes of unripe years or feeble character, he easily usurped al 1 
the powers of the state. Warnachaire in Burgundy and Radon in Os 



196 MIDDLE AGES. 

trasia had been declared immovable by Clotaire, with the consent of 
the nobles, who had long - had a voice in the nomination of these 
ministers, and who appear finally to have had the exclusive power of 
election. It was not until after the time of Dagobert I. that the govern- 
ment passed entirely into the hands of the mayors. 

Dagobert. — Clotaire II. died in 628, and was succeeded by Dago- 
bert, his son, who had been six years king of Ostrasia. He conferred 
Aquitaine on his brother Caribert, who reigned three years at Toulouse, 
and died not long afterwards, when his eldest son was recognised as 
king. Dagobert, however, caused him to be poisoned, and gave Aqui- 
taine as an hereditary duchy, to another of his nephews, who became the 
founder of a long line of princes, which terminated, in 1503, in the 
person of Louis of Armagnac, duke of Nemours, killed at the battle of 
Cerignole. 

The reign of Dagobert offers no remarkable event, except the invasion 
of Ostrasia by a Sclavonic tribe, who had elected to the kingly station a 
Frank merchant named Samon. Some time after, Judicael, duke of 
Bretagne, whose subjects committed incessant ravages on Western 
France, came to Clichy soliciting the alliance of the Frank monarch. 
Dagobert expired in 638, after a reign of some splendour, the honour 
of which belongs not so much to the sovereign as to the mayors 
Arnulph, Pepin of Landen, Ega, and to the goldsmith Saint Eloi, 
who administered the king's finances and presided over the magnificence 
of the court. 

Sluggard Kings.* — With Siegbert II. and Clovis II., respectively 
monarchs of Ostrasia and Neustria, begins the list of Sluggard Kings — 
for by that name were the ten feeble successors of Dagobert I. charac- 
terized. Forty years after, the right of succession called Thierry III. to 
the united throne of the triple kingdom, 678 ; when the Ostrasian nobles, 
indignant at the favour shown to their enemy, the mayor Ebroin, 
abolished the royal title, and chose their dukes in the persons of Pepin 
d'Heristal and Martin the grandson of Saint Arnulph. Hostilities ensued 
with the mayor of Thierry III., in which Martin perished. Pepin, 
thus left sole duke, became bolder in his designs, and attacking 
Neustria, ended the war in 687 by the victory of Testry, which placed 
the chief portion of Western France in his hands. 

Pepin d'Heristal, now become absolute master in the two kingdom;*, 
strengthened his power by the defeat of the tributaries who had as- 
sumed independence during the Frank dissensions. Three times he 
disposed of the Nuestrian crown, and dying, bequeathed the mayoralty 
to his grandson Theodobald and his widow Plectrude, passing over his 
illegitimate son Charles, 715. 

* Michelot remarks of these latter Merovingian kings, that they appear to be a parti- 
cular race of men ; they were all parents at fifteen, and old men at thirty. Few of them 
attained the latter age: Caribert II. died at the age of twenty five years ; Sigebert II. 
at twenty-six ; Clovis II. at twenty-three ; Childeric II. at twenty-four ; Clotaire III. at 
eighteen ; Dagobert II. at twenty-seven, &.c,—Hist. de France, tome i. p. 280. 



y - > 





> 




3 




CO 




cd 




c s. 


^1 


CD 


CD 


CD 


"2. 




3' 


3 


o 






cd 


K 


cd 
crq 


CD 


^>crq 
r p 



SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 



197 



re 



^i -^ V 

- p is 

3 3 H 






> a t 



a* 

I— I to 

•— ' 00 



•r. 






P H 
13 >• 



S 



crq ° 



7T a 
5" f 
<P S 

o 



5 o 
crq < 

CO 






o 

S" o ° 
pr co a 

3' H" f 

^ I. S 

m» g 
g a, o 

I g H 

cn w m 



£ < 
<? - 



-> a 

IT 1 H 



?-; 






co O 



3 
co crq 

p 
hh 3 



17* 



198 MIDDLE AGES. 

SPAIN. 

The two successors of Recardede, Liuva II. and Vitteric, died by 
assassination. Gondemar gained a few advantages over the Greeks, 
who were driven out of Spain by Sisebert, 612-620. This prince, cele- 
brated for the composition of a not inelegant Latin poem on the eclipses 
of the sun and moon, conquered Tangier and Ceuta, as well as part of 
Mauritania. His son Recardede II. died shortly after his coronation ; 
and his second son Suintilla, was nominated his successor by the 
bishops ; but was overthrown by Sisenand, governor of Septimania, 
631. Under this ruler, the fourth council of Toledo declared that no 
one could ascend the throne without the consent of the prelates and the 
chief officers of state ; that the king should take oath not to pronounce 
any judgment on capital matters without the advice of his court; that 
the bishops might summon to the councils, or exclude from them, any 
persons whatever ; and that, finally, the ecclesiastics should be exempt 
from charges and taxation. Thus was Spain placed under the control 
of a sacerdotal aristocracy. 

Chintilla, a. d. 636, expelled the Jews from Spain, in obedience to 
the orders of the sixth council of Toledo, which further decreed that no 
election of a successor should take place during the life of the reigning 
king. Tulga, deposed by the nobles, left his crown to Chindasvind, 
who associated his son Recesvind with him on the throne. The latter 
still further augmented the power of the bishops, repelled an invasion 
of ths Gascons, and defended Mauritania against the first attacks of the 
Arabians. His successor Wamba, 672, had to check the numerous 
revolts which broke out on every side, and was at length deposed after 
several successful campaigns against the Mussulmans. The noble 
Erwiga, instigated by the Archbishop of Toledo, mixed opium in his 
wine, cut off his hair during sleep, and took away the silver keys, the 
ensigns of royalty. On his awaking, the sovereign not unwillingly 
resigned a throne which he had accepted only on compulsion. 

The new king Erwiga was compelled to reward the services of the 
head of the Spanish church by new concessions, and by the privilege of 
nominating to the vacant sees. By this act the crown lost almost the 
only useful prerogative which remained, for the great civil and military 
dignities having become hereditary, the king had no other means of 
opposing the nobles than by filling the bishoprics with trusty men. 
Under Egiza, 687, the Jews formed secret relations with their African 
brethren, in the hope of receiving protection and aid from the Saracens. 
The plot having been discovered, the exercise of the Jewish worship 
was forbidden ; children of seven years old and under were taken from 
their parents to be educated as Christians ; and all who apostatized were 
deprived of their wealth and liberty. This reign was disturbed by the 
claims of the Archbishops of Toledo, who were desirous of conducting 
the affairs of the kingdom by a regency. Witizen beheld the increase 
of the factions, to which he himself became a victim, 710: being de- 
throned by Roderick, the son of a nobleman whose eyes he had ordered 
to be torn out. 

THE CHURCH. 

The true doctrines of Christianity were fast becoming ob^'ared in the 
East, from the ambition of the patriarchs and the subtle spirit of tho 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 199 

people. Heraclius, who was said to have recovered the relics of the 
True Cross from the hands of the infidels, — a victory still celebrated in 
the Romish ritual, — did not confine himself to opposing- the enemies of 
the empire, but mingled in theological discussions and controversies on 
the faith. The Eutychians had modified their opinions to give them 
new vigour, and the patriarch Sergius openly disseminated their heresy, 
which tended to confound the divine and human nature of Christ. The 
emperor published an edict in favour of the Eutyehian dogmas, and 
Pope Honorius, deceived by a letter of Sergius, forbade all discussion 
of their errors. This disposition to temporize alarmed the orthodox, and 
Sophronius, bishop of Jerusalem, wrote to inform the Pope of the real 
state of affairs. John IV., who then occupied St. Peter's chair, con- 
demned the error, and also the imperial decree which defended it. A 
short time before his death Heraclius disavowed his edict; but his 
grandson Constans II. again reasserted it, and deposed the venerable 
pontiff. Constantine Pogonatus, wishing to restore peace to the church, 
convoked the sixth general council at Constantinople, 680, at which the 
papal legate presided. The errors of the monothelites were condemned 
as well as all their followers, and this heresy became ever after con- 
founded with that of the Eutychians. 

Triple Crown. — The emperor Anastasius having invested Clovis 
with the dignity of patrician and consul, sent him a crown of gold ; the 
king of the Franks presented it to Pope Symmachus, 498, and it was 
the first of those which composed the papal diadem. The second was 
added by Boniface VIII., who ascended the spiritual throne in 1294 ; 
and the third by John XXII., 1316. — The title of pope, it should be 
observed, was not exclusively applied to those who held the see of Rome 
until Hildebrand issued a bull to that effect, towards the close of the 
I lth century. Before the time of Sabinianus, 604, they were simply 
styled bishops. 



EIGHTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire. — 717, Leo III. — Saracens at Constantinople. — 726, Iconoclast 

War. — 797, Empress Irene. 
Arabia. — 711, Northern Africa and Spain subdued.— 749, Abbassides.— 786, 

Haroun al Raschid. 
Spain. — 711, Arabians in Spain. — 755, Independent Caliphate. 
Italy.— 715, Pope Gregory II.— 774, End of Lombard Kingdom.— 795, Leo 

III., first Bishop of the West. — 728, Luitprand takes Ravenna. — 749, 

Astolphus. 
France.— 714, Charles Martel.— 732, Victory of Tours— 752, Carlovingian 

Dynasty — Pepin. — 768, Charlemagne. 
Church.— 720, Dionysian or Vulgar Era introduced.— 769, Worship of Images. 
Literature. — Bede, d. 735; Boniface, Apostle of the Germans, d. 754 ; 

Alcuin, d. 804. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Isaurian Dynasty — A space of six years divided into three short 
reigns separated the fall of the Heraclian from the rise of the Isaurian 
Dynasty. Justinian II., put to death in 711, was succeeded by Philip- 



200 MIDDLE AGES. 

picus Bardanes, a general raised to the throne by the voice of the 
soldiery ; bat this adventurer, after a reign of two years, was over- 
thrown by his secretary Artemius, who governed in the name of Anasta- 
sius II. The revolt of the fleet compelled the latter to take refuge 
among the Bulgarians ; and a new emperor, Theodosius III., succeeded, 
only to abdicate the following year in favour of a popular officer, whom 
the army had already proclaimed. Leo, a native of Isauria, had gradu- 
ally risen from the plebeian rank to the throne, which he had scarcely 
usurped before his capital was closely besieged by the Arabs. During 
thirteen months Constantinople was blockaded by land and sea, and 
was saved only by its lofty walls and the terrible Greek lire. He next 
quelled a revolt in Sicily, but compromised his success and the peace 
of the empire by theological disputes. In 726, he interdicted the wor- 
ship of images, and, in spite of the discontent manifested by the people, 
broke all the statues in the churches. The inhabitants of the Cyclades, 
the Italian Greeks, and above all the Romans, refused to obey the 
imperial decrees; still Leo, unyielding in his faith and his decisions, 
enforced their execution at the risk of losing several valuable provinces. 
Constantine V., Cuprotiymus, 741, a dissolute and sanguinary tyrant, 
showed scarcely less iconoclastic zeal than his father. His reign was 
celebrated, however, by the recovery of Armenia and Syria from the 
Arabians ; by the defeat of the Bulgarians ; by the redemption of many 
captives ; and by his judicious measures for repeopling the almost 
deserted Thracian cities. Leo IV., 775, reigned only five years, and 
left the crown to Constantine VI., Porphyrogenitus, nnder the regency 
of his mother Irene. The worship of images was restored in 787, by 
the resolutions of the second Nicene council, at which three hundred 
and seventy bishops condemned the impiety of the innovators. Irene, 
who was as adroit as she was ambitious, endeavoured to withdraw her 
son from public business ; her schemes prospered until he reached his 
twentieth year, when she was condemned to exile in a palace on the 
shores of the Propontis. But here by her intrigues she contrived to 
seduce the affections of the army and the citizens, by whom he was 
dethroned and deprived of his eyes. The reign of the unnatural mother, 
now become sole empress, was not unaccompanied by external splen- 
dour ; yet the public indignation being excited, she was dethroned by 
her treasurer Nicephorus I., 802. In her solitude at Mitylene siie 
earned a scanty subsistence by the labours of her distaff. 

ARABIA. 

Walid, a. d. 704, and Soliman I., endeavoured to render themselves 
masters of Constantinople, but their armies were compelled to retreat 
with loss. Their want of success in the east of Europe was compensated 
by the conquest of Spain in the west, 711. Here again they found 
themselves too weak to contend with the warlike children of the north; 
for, after the dreadful battle of Tours, the Saracens were driven igno- 
miniously across the Pyrenees, 732. Internal dissensions now began 
to prevail : the immense empire of the Caliphs of Damascus, composed 
of elements so various and so suddenly brought together, had not 
acquired consistency enough to preserve its unity. In other respects, 
too, the Omniades had failed to conciliate the affections of their subjects, 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 201 

and all eyes were turned upon the family of the prophet. Of these, the 
Abbassides, who derive their name from the prophet's uncle Abbas, 
were the most numerous and active. A black banner was adopted as 
their peculiar badge, while their opponents were distinguished by a 
white one. The East was convulsed by the conflicts of these parties, 
till, on the banks of the Zab, victory deserted the reigning caliph, and 
Mervan II., fleeing to Egypt, was pursued and put to death, 750. 

The Abbassides. — Abbas immediately set about confirming his power 
by destroying every one related to the deposed family. One royal youth 
with difficulty escaped from those who hunted after his life, and, reach- 
ing Spain, Abdalrahman established the throne of Cordova, whence 
during 275 years the family of the Omniades governed that peninsula. 
Almansor, on his accession in 754, had to contend against his uncie 
Abdallah, who had been proclaimed at Damascus. He conquered his 
rival after a struggle of five months, and treacherously put him to death. 
The victor himself was also executed a short time afterwards under the 
eyes of the caliph, who feared his ambition and his talents. This 
general, it is said, had sacrificed more than 600,000 persons to the Ab- 
bassides. His death caused an insurrectiou in Khorassan ; and the 
commander who put it down, being offended at the disproportionate 
share of booty taken by the caliph, revolted in his turn, seized on Ispa- 
han, and was defeated in Azerbijan. 

To strengthen his throne Almansor was often cruel. The Omniades, 
with one exception, had been extirpated, but the descendants of AH still 
survived. These he persecuted with atrocious violence : wishing to 
discover the hiding-place of Mohammed and Ibrahim, great-grandsons 
of Hossein, he shut up their father in a close prison; eleven others of 
the family expired in a dungeon ; one of the Othmans perished under 
the scourge, and his head was carried into Khorassan and exhibited as 
that of Mohammed. One of the youths being driven to extremity, at 
last took up arms, but was defeated and killed with his brother, 762. 

Mohadi, a. d. 774, a prince as magnificent and prodigal as his father, 
revived the war against the Greeks, in which his son Haroun, afterwards 
called Al Raschid (the Just), traversed Bithynia and penetrated to the 
Bosphorus, whence he menaced Constantinople. By the death of his 
parent and brother, he was raised to the caliphate in 786, and began the 
most glorious reign of all the Abbasside dynasty. 

Haroun al Raschid. — An insulting demand made by the Emperor 
Nicephorus led to a new war along the Byzantine frontier. Haroun 
entered Asia Minor, devastating the country with fire and sword as far 
as the walls of Heraclea, whence the approach of winter compelled him 
to retreat beyond the Taurus. He soon found it necessary to repass 
these mountains, though covered with snow, to meet his enemy, who 
was secretly advancing at the head of all his forces. At Crasus in 
Phrygia, the Creeks suffered a terrible defeat; and the emperor was 
reduced to purchase a cessation of hostilities by the payment of a very 
large sum of money. It was under the character of opponent to the 
Greek monarch and to the Caliph of Cordova, that Haroun sent an 
embassy to Charlemagne in 799. The glory of his reign was tarnished 
by the cruelty which he practised on the illustrious family of the Barme- 
cides, two of whom, Yahia and his son Jaafar, had the entire manage- 



202 MIDDLE AGES. 

merit of the affairs of his empire. Tiieir popularity excited the jealousy 
of Haroun to such a degree, that he put them to death, and exterminated 
almost all their relations. 

The cultivation of Arabian letters, begun by Almansor, was continued under 
Harouh with increased brilliancy. The fanatic admirers of the prophet, the 
successors of the barbarians who had destroyed the library of Alexandria, ap- 
plii d themselves to the study of the Greek language and the translation of the 
treasures which it contained. By this means the Arabs acquired the elements 
of mathematics, medicine, astronomy, natural history, and philosophy. The 
pupils soon becoming instructors, gave to these sciences an extent and develop- 
ment previously unknown. They created, it might almost be said the natural 
sciences — astronomy, chemistry, medicine, the mathematics, algebra, the 
mechanical arts; and their progress in these pursuits was attested by the 
splendour of Bagdad, Ispahan, Kufa, Damascus, and Cordova. 

In the department of literature, the Arabs had their poets and historians, 
and as metaphysicians they made known the works of Aristotle to the Euro- 
peans. Wherever they settled, numerous schools arose, — even on the shores 
of Africa, the constant refuge of barbarism. Spain still preserves the memo- 
rials of their magnificence ; and while the traveller gazes on the ruins of 
Moorish architecture, so light and elegant, that everywhere cover her soil, he 
looks in vain for the 300,000 inhabitants of Seville, and the 200,000 of Toledo. 
Anciently Cordova was eight leagues in circumference, being only three less 
than Rome under the emperors, and contained 60,000 palaces, with 283,000 
private houses. The diocese of Salamanca comprehended 125 cities or towns, 
where only thirteen are now to be found. In Seville might be counted 60,000 
looms for silk alone, while, in 1742, entire Spain reckoned only 10,000 for silk 
and wool. 

SPAIN. 

Arab Conquest, a. d. 710. — The Goths possessed along the African 
shore the town of Ceuta and the province of Tingitania, governed by 
Count Julian, whose treason introduced the Arabs into Spain. Tarik, 
the lieutenant of the Emir Musa, crossed the straits of Hercules, follow- 
ed by a small army of 5000 men, with whom he took possession of the 
castle of Algesiras, and of the rock of Calpe which afterwards bore his 
name, Gebel-nl-Tarik or Gibraltar. Roderic the Gothic king, at the first 
news, hastened to repel the invaders, whom he found in the neighbour- 
hood of Cadiz, increased indeed in numbers, but still vastly inferior to 
the opposing army. Three successive days were marked by bloody but 
indecisive skirmishes. On the fourth, however, 16,000 men lay dead 
on the field of Xeres, and Roderic fled from the battle to perish ignobly 
in the waters of the Guadalquivir, 712. The victor directed his march 
to Toledo, which soon fell ; and from that centre, Spain, which had 
resisted the Roman arms two hundred years, was reduced by the Sara- 
cens in fifteen months. In the mountains of Asturias the flame of 
liberty still burn', and thence in a later age rolled down that tide which 
ceased not till I a> soil of Spain was freed from her infidel invaders, 
1 192. The cnn ;• crors manifested great moderation : in all that related 
to themselves, the Christians were allowed to retain their own laws; 
they were also permitted to fill certain offices, to serve in the army, to 
intermarry with the Moslem — their onl) r badge of servitude being a 
heavy impost. 

After the recall of Musa, and the tragical death of his son, Spain was 
governed by deputies, nominated by the viceroys of Africa. Numerous 
Asiatic colonies spread over the peninsula, advancing agriculture and 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 203 

iommerce, while the natives profited by the advantages of conquest 
without suffering its disgrace. The Arabs repeatedly invaded France 
•n maintenance of their claims to the province of Septimania, but they 
were finally checked by the memorable defeat near Tours, which saved 
France and Christendom from impending desolation, 732. 

When the house of the Ommiades was deposed by Abul-Abbas, one 
member of the family alone escaped destruction and fled to Africa. 
Here he carried on a correspondence with the principal Spanish sheiks, 
who prepared an insurrection in his favour, and after an exile of four 
years, Abdalrahman landed in the peninsula, defeated the Abbasside 
governor Youssef, and was proclaimed Prince of the Faithful at Cor- 
dova. Such was the beginning of the caliphate of the West, in 756. 

Abdalrahman skilfully triumphed over all the opposition raised by the 
partisans of his enemy, forced the governors of Barcelona and Sara- 
gossa to submission, and consolidated the throne by a victory over the 
Emir Magreb, who had landed in Spain to support the disaffected sheiks. 
The expedition of Charlemagne, originating in similar motives, termi- 
nated in the submission of the provinces between the Ebro and the 
Pyrenees. Internal cares prevented the Ommiadan prince from prose- 
cuting the sacred war with any success. Hashem I. retaliated the 
Frank invasion by an irruption into Aquitaine, in which the whole 
country was devastated even to the suburbs of Narbonne, 793 ; and so 
great was the spoil that the caliph's share amounted to forty thousand 
gold purses. With this and the aid of his numerous prisoners he com- 
pleted the great mosque at Cordova, begun by Abdalrahman, and one 
of the largest of existing edifices. Its length is 600 feet, nearly equal 
to that of St. Peter's at Rome, and its width 250, almost double that of 
the metropolitan church in Paris ; 100 columns of marble or of jasper 
formed the interior enclosure of the cupola ; by means of 993 others it 
was divided into nineteen naves, all closed by gates of bronze with 
sculptures in bas-relief, these of the great gate alone being in massive 
gold ; 4700 lamps illuminated the interior during the night, and con- 
sumed annually 120,000 pounds weight of oil. Hashem also construct- 
ed canals and bridges, founded schools for the Arabic language, forbade 
the use of Latin, and obliged the Christian to relinquish his vernacular 
tongue. Learned men and poets were encouraged, and the Caliph of 
Cordova vied in magnificence with the great Haroun al Raschid. 

Christian Spain. — The peninsula was not entirely conquered by the 
Arabs ; there still remained a small number of Christians, who, pre- 
ferring liberty to servitude, had taken refuge in the mountains of As- 
turias. Here, if any credit is to be given to popular tradition in the 
absence of historical testimony, they elected Pelayo king, 718, from 
which period commenced, on the banks of the Douro, that series of 
crusades which terminated in the conquest of Granada. Pelayo reign- 
ed over the kingdom of Oviedo, a region extending to between thirty 
and forty leagues, and defended by encircling mountains. Alphonso 
the Catholic took Lugo, Leon, Astorga, and many other Castilian cities, 
with a large portion of Galicia, including Braga and Porto Calle. His 
son Fruela vigorously executed the ecclesiastical laws, and compelled 
the ministers of the church to live in celibacy. Continuing his father's 
career, he annihilated, as we are told, an army of 54,000 Saracens that 
had invaded Galicia, destroyed another in Castile, and with the spoils 



204 MIDDLE AGES. 

built the city of Oviedo. But he was as cruel as he was brave, and 
punishing 1 those with death who had refused to follow him, he stabbed 
one of fits brothers with his own hand. He was himself assassinated 
soon afterwards. Alphonso, his son, having gained a brilliant victory 
over the Moors near Burgos, received the crown on the field of battle, 
791. This monarch, surnamed the Chaste, again defeated the Arabs at 
Lugo, fortified Braga, and plundered Lisbon. He founded the cele- 
brated church Compostella, in which the relics of St. James the Great 
were said to be preserved. 

The conquests in Spain of the Moors (so called from Mauritania, whence 
they embarked for the Peninsula) produced many salutary effects in Europe. 
The taste for letters rapidly spread from the banks of the Euphrates to the 
Tagus. The schools of Cordova, in which were cultivated many branches of 
science unknown to the rest of Europe, became the great resort of the learned 
Christians of the West. The celebrated Gerbert, afterwards Pope Sylvester 
II., was one of the first who studied in Spain. Agriculture, navigation, and 
manufactures are greatly indebted to the Arabs : their carpets, gold and silver 
embroideries, silks, steel-work, and leather, were brought at an early perioa 
to a high degree of perfection ; and by their means the arithmetical numerals, 
cotton-paper, and gunpowder were introduced into Europe. 

ITALY. 

Origin of the Pontifical Sovereignty. — The earlier part of Luit- 
prand's reign was occupied in reforming the abuses of the Lombard 
states, and checking the encroachments of the great vassals of the 
crown ; the latter, and far more important part, from its influence on 
posterity, was passed in religious quarrels, which gave rise to the tem- 
poral power of the popes, and entirely destroyed the imperial supremacy 
in Italy. Rome, like the Greek cities in the peninsula, was governed 
by dukes subordinate to the Exarch of Ravenna; but the pontiffs, the 
spiritual masters of the ancient capital, moderated by the influence of 
their character the despotism of the imperial officers. An edict of Leo 
the Iconoclast changed this state of affairs, and disturbed the West, as 
it had already embroiled the East. Gregory II. protested against the 
decree, and all the Greeks in Italy, participating in his indignation, 
expelled their dukes. The inhabitants of Ravenna murdered the Ex- 
arch Paul and opened their gates to Luitprand, who seized on the Pen- 
tapolis. At the same time, Rome formed itself into a republic, and 
confided the supreme magistrative authority of the new state to its 
bishop, whose temporal power extended from Viterbo to Terracina, and 
from Narni to the mouth of the Tiber. Gregory II., whose fears were 
excited by the Lombard possession of the exarchate, entered into a 
secret negotiation with the newly-formed commonwealth of Venice, 
which lent its fleet to Eutychius, who, after he had expelled the Lom- 
bards from his dominions, formed a treaty with them for the recovery 
of Rome, 729. Gregory III. ascended the papal chair, 731, without 
soliciting the permission of the emperor, and issued an anathema againsl 
the Iconoclasts. The irritated Leo sent a powerful fleet against him, 
but it was scattered and destroyed by a tempest in the Adriatic ; after 
which event Rome had nothing more to fear from the Byzantine rulers. 
The elements of discord, which seemed preparing new misfortunes foi 
Italy, disappeared with the death of the pope and of the eastern monarch, 
who both descended to the tomb in the same year, 741, whither Luit- 
prand soon followed them. 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 205 

End of the Lombard Kingdom. — The deposition of Hildebrand, the 
son of Luitprand, and the abdication of Ratchis who retired to Mount 
Cassino, raised to the throne Astolphus. He completed the conquest 
of the exarchate, 752, and summoned Rome to acknowledge him as her 
lawful sovereign. The citizens hesitated, temporized, and finally im- 
plored the assistance of the Franks, 754. Pepin, their king, after 
having employed his mediation in vain, raised an army and crossed the 
Alps. The Lombards were defeated, and the conquered exarchate was 
bestowed upon the pope, Stephen III., Pepin being rewarded with the 
title of Patrician. For twenty years their kingdom continued sinking, 
while the prudence and craft of Adrian I., aided by the genius of 
Charlemagne, were preparing to overwhelm their expiring monarchy. 
Desiderius, the last of the Lombard sovereigns, was betrayed into the 
hands of the Franks, 774, and ended his life in the retirement of the 
cloister. Charles assumed the Iron Crown and the title of King of the 
Lombards. Paul Warnefrid, the chancellor of Desiderius, for his fre- 
quent conspiracies to restore the independence of his country, was con- 
demned to lose his eyes and hands, when Charlemagne, imitating the 
generosity of Caesar, exclaimed, " Where shall we find hands able to 
write history as these have done !" The authority of the Frank monarch 
extended as far as the Garigliano; while the country to the south 
acknowledged the sovereignty of the dukes of Benevento. 

FRANCE. 

Battle of Tours, a. d. 732. — Charles Martel (the Hammer), son 
of Pepin, was mayor of the palace in Ostrasia, having succeeded his 
father in 714. This great man restored and supported the dignity of 
the throne, successively crushed by his warlike activity the German and 
Gallic rebels, and saved Europe from the hands of the Saracens. These 
enthusiasts having conquered Africa, and crossed the Straits, had over- 
run Spain, and were already threatening the destruction of France, 
when they were opposed by Martel, between Tours and Poitiers, 732. 
The conflict is reported to have lasted seven days, and the Arabs fled, 
leaving 300,000 of their number dead on the field. "The victory of 
Charles," says Hallam, "has immortalized his name, and may justly 
be reckoned among those few battles of which a contrary event would 
have essentially varied the drama of the world in all its subsequent 
scenes — with Marathon, Arbela, the Metaurus, Chalons, and Leipsic." 
The victor endeavoured to complete his triumph by driving the Saracens 
beyond the Pyrenees, and was so far successful that they were able to 
retain only the towns of Narbonne, Agde, Maguelone, and Beziers. At 
the death of Thierry IV. in 737, the throne was left vacant, but Charles, 
under the title of Duke of the Franks, continued for the remainder of his 
life to exercise all the functions of sovereignty. 

Carlovingians. — On the death of Charles Martel in 741, the Frank 
dominions were divided amongst his sons. Pepin had Neustria, Bur- 
gundy, and Provence; Carloman received Ostrasia; while Grypho, the 
third son, obtaining only a trifling share in this partition, conspired with 
some of the turbulent dukes — to repress whom the title and authority of 
a king was found to be necessary. Childeric III. was placed on the 
throne in 742 : Ostrasia, however, recognised no superior but Carloman, 
18 



206 MIDDLE AGES. 

who governed as an independent chief. It was this prince who sum- 
moned the council of Liptines in 743, when the Christian era was intro- 
duced into Frafice. In 746, he retired into a monastery at Cassino, 
leaving to Pepin his portion of the paternal heritage. Grypho, again 
irritated at his exclusion, raised the German provinces in his behalf, but 
was defeated by his eldest brother, who remained sole master of the 
empire. When the suffrages of the nation, imperfectly represented by 
the acclamations of the Camp de Mars, had conferred the regal authority 
on Pepin, it was confirmed by the authority of the church, in the person 
of Pope Zachary, 752. A grand revolution was now completed, which 
reunited into one system all the fragments of the Germanic nation dis- 
persed over the continent of Europe, and allied indissolubly the con- 
quering race with the Roman population. The last descendant of Clovis, 
Childeric III., was deposed, and the Merovingian dynasty was brought 
to an end after existing 270 years.* 

Pepin, the first king of the Carlovingian dynasty, a. d. 752, taught 
by experience and by the faults of his predecessors, had learnt the 
necessity of strengthening the kingly power, and of elevating by every 
means this safeguard of public tranquillity. He began by causing his 
person to be consecrated by Boniface of Mentz, and completed his 
designs by the entire conquest of Gaul. Septimania was reduced in 
759, and Aquitaine in 768. The country now regaining tranquillity, the 
national assemblies were regularly held, and no endeavours were spared 
to remedy the grievances of the preceding reigns. Desirous of preserv- 
ing the crown in his family, and procuring the favour of the church, he 
readily agreed to the prayer of Stephen III., and not only rescued him 
from his Lombard enemies, but added the conquered exarchate of Ra- 
venna and Pentapolis to the patrimony of St. Peter. 

Charlemagne, a. d. 768. — In a general assembly of the chiefs of the 
nation, the inheritance of Pepin was divided between his two sons : 
Charles had Neustria and Aquitaine ; Carloman, Ostrasia and Bur- 
gundy. The two brothers, from the very first, regarded each other with 
jealousy ; but the death of the latter in 771 prevented the consummation 
of a rivalry that w r ould have weakened both kingdoms. The entire 
Frank monarchy was now seized upon by the survivor, to the prejudice 
of his nephews, who, with their widowed mother, took refuge at the 
court of Desiderius the Lombard, whose generous reception of Queen 
Geberge was one cause of the Italian war. 

" Charlemagne," says Sismondi, " claimed as a saint by the Church ; 
by the French as their greatest king; by the Germans as a fellow- 
countryman; by the Italians as their emperor; is placed, in a measure, 
at the head of all modern histories." When the death of his brother 
had re-established the unity of the Franks, Charles found himself in 
possession of a power superior to that of any of his predecessors. He 
began a series of expeditions which had for their object the protection 
of his kingdom against the invasions of the German tribes on the north, 
and of the Saracens on the south. He subjugated the Lombard king- 
dom, 774, and next carried his victorious arms against the Saxons, who, 

* The family of Clovis descended to a private station, and it is conjectured that the 
posterity of the founder of the French monarchy is represented by the noble house of 
Montesquieu. 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 207 

often vanquished by the Franks but always restless under their yoke, 
had promised Pepin to receive missionaries into their country. The 
imprudent menaces of St. Libwin having irritated them against 
Christianity, they burnt the church of Deventer in Holland, which act 
of violence served as the pretext for hostilities that, with only some 
interruptions, endured thirty years. This war is divided into three 
periods, namely, from 772 to 777 ; from 778 to 785, terminated by the 
peace of Horxheim ; and from 792 to 803. The ascendency was at 
length achieved by means which shock every feeling of humanity.* 1 
At Verden, in 782, he caused 4500 prisoners to be massacred in cold 
blood. Witikind, the second Arminius of Germany, the chief of the 
warlike Saxons, embraced the gospel, and acknowledged the sovereignty 
of Charlemagne, after which his name disappears from history. 

While engaged in the Saxon war, Charles had promised to restore 
certain Spanish emirs whom the Caliph Abdalrahman had deposed from 
their governments. Crossing the Pyrenees, he received the doubtful 
submission of the people of Biscay and Navarre, destroyed Pampeluna, 
but suffered defeat before Saragossa. Returning into Gaul, a confederate 
army of Basques, Saracens, and Asturians attacked him in the valley of 
Roncesvalles, when his rear-guard was cut in pieces to a man. In this 
fatal day the hero lost his most illustrious companions: Egghiard, his 
seneschal; Anselm, warden of the palace; and the famous Roland, 
warden of the frontier of Bretagne, whom the ties of glory even more 
than those of blood attached to the person of the monarch. f 

Charlemagne, having visited Rome in order to quell a tumult which 
had been excited against Pope Leo III. by the nephews of that pontiff's 
predecessor, was consecrated Emperor of the Romans by the grateful 
occupant of the papal chair, a. d. 800. His territorial possessions war- 
ranted him in claiming the additional title of Emperor of the West. 
All France, with the exception of Brittany, acknowledged his power ; 
beyond the Pyrenees, the Spanish march, comprising Rousillon and 
Catalonia, Navarre and Aragon, was subject to his jurisdiction ; while 
in Germany, a line drawn from the Elbe through Magdeburg and Passau 
would have marked his eastern frontier. Many other nations were his 
tributaries : indeed, all that part of Europe which lies between the 
Ebro and the Elbe, the frontiers of modern Naples and the Eyder, sub- 
mitted to his sway. 

The ceremony, which conferred on Charlemagne the imperial title, 
raised him in the general opinion far above the kingly power, and invest- 
ed him with absolute dominion. It broke the last and feeble links 
which still united Rome and Constantinople, and introduced new rela- 
tions between the imperial courts. It has been supposed that Leo III. 
meditated the chimerical design of reuniting the two empires by the 



* Among the severities of Charlemagne was the institution of the Secret Tribunal of 
Westphalia, a sort of inquisition appointed to prevent the apostasy and rebellion of the 
Saxons. This terrible system of judicial administration lasted till 1H50. when the great 
elector, Frederick William, shocked at its enormities, effected its formal abolition.— See 
Coxe's Letter on the Secret Tribunal of Westphalia. 

|The exploits of Roland, presented to the imagination of the warriors of the middle 
ages by the military song that bears his name, and which led the Normans to victory at 
Hastings, were above all rendered popular by the romantic history of Charlemagne and 
Roland, ascribed to Turpin, archbishop of Rheims, a.d.7?3; but which bears internal 
evidence of having been composed about the time of the First Crusade, in the eleventh 
century. 



208 MIDDLE AGES. 

two churches by the marriage of Charles with the Empress Irene, who 
had just succeeded her son on the Byzantine throne. The Frank 
monarch expired in 814. 

Observations on the Life, of Charlemagne. 

I. Political life. — Independently of those conquests by which Charlemagne 
acquired two-thirds of the Roman empire, he is worthy of our notice as a greaf 
legislative reformer. Two national assemblies (placita) were held annually, to 
which all the clergy and laity repaired to enact such laws as the public weal 
required. His cares extended alike over the most distant as the nearest parts 
of iiis vast empire, and by his public acts he endeavoured to promote the hap- 
piness of his people. This led him to reform the coinage ; to establish the 
legal divisions of money ; to repair old and construct new roads; to found 
schools ; to collect libraries ; to build bridges ; and to facilitate commerce by 
uniting the ocean with the Black Sea, by cutting a canal from the Rhine to the 
Danube. The Capitularies of Charlemagne, first collected in 827, prove that 
he was not unacquainted with the rights of property, and what was consistent 
with the liberty of the subject. All weighty matters concerning life or goods 
were tried before a kind of jury, with an appeal to the sovereign. Special 
judges (missi regii) were also appointed to hold assizes from place to place, to 
inquire into the administration of justice, enforce its execution, and expel those 
who misconducted themselves in their various judicial offices. 

II. His literary life. — His acquirements were probably not very great, as, 
until the age of thirty-two, he was ignorant of the first elements of science. 
It is doubtful if he could write ; and Mabillon says, " he had a mark to him- 
self, like an honest, plain-dealing man." He spoke several languages, and 
daily received lessons from eminent teachers in the seven liberal arts.* He 
gathered about him the learned of every country ; founded an academy in 
which he took the name of David, and the accomplished Englishman Alcuin, 
that of Horace. 

III. His private life exhibits the characteristics of a barbarian and a con- 
queror. He was addicted to the pleasures of the chase, and regardless of 
human life ; but he was affable in conversation, temperate in his repasts, and 
simple in his dress. A hundred and twenty guards watched every night around 
his bed, each holding in the one hand a drawn sword, and in the other a burn- 
ing torch. Mr. Hallam thus sums up his character: " He stands alone like a 
beacon upon a waste, or a rock in the broad ocean. His reign affords a solitary 
resting-place between two long periods of turbulence and ignominy, deriving 
the advantages of contrast both from those of the preceding dynasty, and of a 
posterity for whom he had formed an empire which they were unworthy and 
unequal to maintain." 

THE WORLD IN THE TIME OF CHARLEMAGNE. 

End of the Eighth Century. 

Western Empire. 

France. — Charlemagne possessed nearly all France, great part of Germany, 
the half of Italy, part of Spain, and was the arbiter of the remainder of the 
West. The language of the Franks was still Teutonic, and continued so until 
the middle of the ninth century. 

Eastern Empire. 

Irene, stained with the blood of her son, reigned at Constantinople, and 
administered justice from the Bosphorus to the Adriatic. Tottering on a throne 



* The sciences had long been divided into two parts, the tririum and quadrivium ; the 
first comprehending grammar (t. e philology), logic, and rhetoric; the second, music, 
arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Few persons mastered the latter four, and to be 
perfect in the three former was rare. 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 209 

never free from the violence of rebellion and fanaticism, pressed on the north 
by the Bulgarians, attacked in different quarters by the Mohammedans, this 
celebrated woman, an extraordinary mixture of great virtues and greater crimes, 
of talent and weakness still preserved the empire. 

Empire of the Caliphs. 

Haroun al Raschid was master of great part of Asia and all the northern 
coast of Africa. He was obeyed from the Imaus to Mount Atlas. 

Secondary Powers. 

Denmark resisted the ambitious designs of Charlemagne; and Godfrey, 
while he closed the entrance to this peninsula against the troops of the Frank 
conqueror, sent forth from Norway those swarms of warriors which made 
successive descents upon the Western Empire. 

Sweden and Russia were as yet insignificant powers ; and Poland, already 
become an elective monarchy, was of little importance. 

Bohemia was the prey of the barbarous Sclavonians, whom the thirst of 
plunder had attracted into Germany. The Huns, successors of the ferocious 
people who had devastated Europe, settled at last in Pannonia, from which 
country they attacked the frontiers of the Western Empire. Under the name 
of the Avars they carried terror to the gates of Constantinople. 

Spain presented a great battle-field for the Moors and Christians. The 
latter, though inferior to their enemies in number, riches, and knowledge, were 
more warlike and united ; and, by unwearied courage and constancy, gradually 
enlarged their boundaries. 

The South of Italy was disputed by the Saracens and Greeks. 

Rome, apparently submissive to Charlemagne, favoured the popes, who con- 
stantly endeavoured to extend their influence, temporal and spiritual. 

Venice, placed between two powerful empires, affected to recognise the 
sovereignty of the one which was too weak to be feared, and thus avoided the 
yoke of the other. 

England was about to begin her glorious career. The numerous states into 
which the country was divided were gradually united to the kingdom of the 
West Saxons. 

Construct : A map of Europe, with the boundaries of the governments as 
they existed at the end of the eighth century, distinguishing the Mohammedan 
from the Christian states. 

THE CHURCH. 

The union between the Greek and Latin churches was threatened &t 
the close of the seventh century by the controversy respecting- the wor- 
ship of images, which ended in the revolt of Italy, the temporal power 
of the popes, and the restoration of the Empire of the West. In reject- 
ing the Pagan creed, many of the early Christians still clung to its 
superstitions ; and the images of the gods and heroes of antiquity, under 
new names, were still regarded as objects of adoration in the churches. 
The reproaches of the Jews and Mohammedans, with the victories of 
the latter, awoke the more rational portion of the Greeks to a sense of 
their condition. Leo the Iconoclast proscribed trn use of images and 
religious pictures, and the eastern churches were cleansed from idolatry 
in 726. In a general council held at Constantinople, 754, after six 
months' deliberation, it was unanimously agreed that all visible symbols 
of Christ, except the eucharist, were blasphemous; and that image- 
worship was not only a corruption of Christianity, but a renewal of 
Paganism. The imperial edicts founded on this decision were no 
received without frequent tumults ; and the daring malecontents, headec 
18* 



210 MIDDLE AGES. 

by some unscrupulous monks, endangered the emperor's person, and 
even ventured to attack the city. The Bishop of Rome was far from 
approving of these measures ; and Gregory II., in a letter to the Emperor 
Leo, had the boldness to maintain that the use of images had descended 
from the apostolic ages. Carrying his zeal or ambition still further, he 
excommunicated the Greek emperor, and proceeded to take possession 
of the exarchate. In the synod of Rome, 769, called the council of the 
Lateran, it was ordered that images should be honoured according to 
ancient tradition, and the Greek council of 754 was anathematized ; but 
idolatry was not extirpated in the East. The Empress Irene called a 
seventh general council — the second of Nice — by which the worship 
of images was restored, 787, and its decisions were confirmed by Pope 
Adrian I. 

During the five succeeding reigns the contest was maintained between 
the two parties with undiminished vigour and varying success. It is 
honourable to the churches of the West — France, Germany, Spain, and 
England — that they took a middle course, at once reproving the fury of 
the Iconoclasts and the superstition of the Greeks. 

All the laws of Charlemagne were favourable to the clergy, at that 
time the sole depositaries and dispensers of learning; and, in a great 
number of mixed diets held by this prince, the bishops in concert with 
the sovereign were anxiously engaged in promoting the spiritual and 
temporal prosperity of the church. The decrees of the general council 
of 787, having been misunderstood by the Gallican clergy, were con- 
demned by three hundred prelates at Frankfort, 794, who did not, how- 
ever, adopt the errors of the Iconoclasts. In this latter council were 
abjured the heretical doctrines of Felix, bishop of Urgel, who, distin- 
guishing two natures in Jesus Christ, maintained that, considered as a 
man, the son of Mary was the son of God by adoption only. 

The second general council, held at Constantinople in .381, had caused 
to be inserted in the Nicene creed the doctrine that the Holy Ghost pro- 
ceedeth from the Father ; to which, in 653, the eighth council of Toledo 
added " and the Son" (filioque) — a clause not long after adopted intG 
the Gallican ritual. Pope Adrian I., alarmed at this innovation, sub- 
mitted it for the examination of the synod of Aix-la-Chapelle, 80!), by 
whom the addition was recognised, and, although rejected by the Greek 
church, received in a short time the papal approbation. 

The popes were not temporal sovereigns before the invasion of Italy 
by Pepin, although they doubtlessly exerted considerable political in- 
fluence. They were the subjects of the Greek emperor, and their inter- 
ference with the civil magistrate was confined to mere admonition. 
The most violent defenders of the papal encroachments have been com- 
pelled to acknowledge as fabulous the pretended donation made by Con- 
stantine to Sylvester I., 314. Those forgeries of Isidore, known by the 
name of the False Decretals, appeared about the end of this century.* 
But the ambition of the Frank monarchs led to far more dangerous con- 
sequences ; and the appeal of Pepin to Pope Zachary was assumed as 

* Saint Isidore, archbishop of Seville, who died in 636, had made a collection of all 
the canons of the Spanish churches which were most favourable to the papal assump- 
tions. Riculf, archbishop of Mentz, brought them into France, and being spconded, it 
is supposed, by the monk Isidore Mercator or Peccator, disseminated them throughout 
the country, having previously interpolated several pretended letters of the earliei 
popes. 



EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. 211 

a precedent for al] the subsequent usurpations of the Vatican. The 
donation of the exarchate of Ravenna to the Bishop of Rome, and its 
confirmation by Charlemagne, had a natural tendency to elevate the 
papal power; and we shall soon be called upon to witness the unbound- 
ed ambition of the Roman pontiffs. 

In the pontificate of Zachary, the court of Germany decided that no 
metropolitan could enter upon his functions without having previously 
received the pallium from the pontiff.* This important decision was 
established by the eighth general council, 869, whereby the popes were 
gradually invested with the right of confirming or annulling the episcopal 
elections, and with the means of keeping foreign dignitaries in depend- 
ence on the Roman see. 

APPENDIX TO EIGHTH CENTURY. 
Fine Arls,fro?n the Fall of Rome to Charlemagne. 

Christianity, which afterwards contributed to raise the arts to great perfection, 
began by inflicting the most grievous injuries. The ardent zeal of many bishops 
had already demolished temples to build churches, and broken those repre- 
sentations in stone or bronze so much abhorred by Christians, long before 
Theodosius had published his edict proscribing the pictures and statues of 
Paganism. Some fine temples had been preserved by appropriating them to 
the Christian worship. Thus Boniface VI. dedicated the Pantheon of Agrippa 
to All Saints ; and the parthenon of Pericles, without a change of name, was 
consecrated to the Virgin. The successive invasions of the Germans, Persians, 
and Arabians caused the greatest injury to the achievements of genius; and 
among their ruins the productions of art were few and ephemeral. The tri- 
umphal arch of Constantine at Rome ; the golden gate raised at Constantinople 
by Theodosius the Great ; the column erected to his honour by the filial piety 
of Arcadius; a few remains at Ravenna and Terracina of the age of Theodoric ; 
the bridge of Salaro over the Anio, rebuilt by Narses, are almost the only 
architectural monuments of these great men. Theodoric encouraged the arts, 
and appointed officers to protect the public buildings throughout Italy. The 
rotunda of Ravenna, whose cupola consists of a single stone cut in the quarries 
of Istria. belongs to his reign. 

The Gothic, or what is sometimes termed the " Pointed" style of archi- 
tecture, begins to appear about this time. The ogive, not unknown under 
Constantine, is found combined with semicircular arcs in the aqueduct of Jus- 
tinian. The last effort of ancient art was the temple of St. Sophia, the work of 
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus. It is the model of churches built 
in the form of a Greek cross. Under Charlemagne the skill of the architects 
was so imperfect that, to raise the cathedral and palace of Aix-la-Chapelle, it 
was necessary to bring from Ravenna the columns and mosaics which had 
adorned the residence of the later Roman emperors. Painting declined ; but 
we have still a few relics of miniature in the marginal drawings that explain and 
decorate the text of the ancient manuscripts, none of which are earlier than the 
sixth century. 

By a fatality without example, while the violence of invasion and the confla- 
gration of cities destroyed many copies of the Greek and Latin authors, it 
happened that in the West as well as in the East, the richest depositories of 
learning became the prey of the flames. At Constantinople, an accident 
destroyed the library of the Octagon, 476, founded by Constantine. The fana- 

* The pallium was originally a mantle sent by the Byzantine emperors to the great 
prelates, for which a stole of white wool was afterwards substituted. Symmachus was 
the first pope who sent, a pallium to St. Cffisarius, bishop of Aries and perpetual vicar of 
the holy chair in Gaul, 513. From vicars and primates the honour passed to inetropo. 
■itans, to certain bishops, and even to abbots. 



212 MIDDLE AGES. 

licism of ihe Isaurian Leo completed the ruin of what the fire had spared, 730. 
'['he library of Alexandria underwent a more melancholy fate. Burnt once hy 
Julius Caesar, condemned with other Pagan monuments by the decree of 
Theodosius, 390, it was finally destroyed by the fanatic Arabians in 640. One 
of the successors of Omar, the Caliph Yezid, commanded the destruction of the 
libraries of Syria, already many times devastated by the ravages of the two 
Chosroe-*. In Africa the Cyrenais had become a vast ruin, when the Mussul- 
mans added ir to their provinces ; but these barbarians overwhelmed the 
treasures of science under the ruins of Carthage, Hippona, and Tagaste. At 
Rome, the temple of Apollo Palatinus had preserved from the time of Augustus 
the masterpieces of classical literature ; but a conflagration reduced them to 
ashes at the end of the sixth century. 

In the monastic schools, the relics of science found an asylum : there the 
seven liberal arts were cultivated, and the profane authors studied. Manuscripts 
were copied, and caligraphy became an art ; but frequently ignorant or fanatical 
monks transcribed litanies or holy legends over the effaced episodes of Virgil or 
the periods of Cicero. 



NINTH CENTURY. 



Greek Empire. — 813, Leo the Armenian. — 842, Michael III. — 867, Mace- 
donian Dynasty. — 886, Leo VI. 

Arabia. — 800, The Aglabites— 813, Almamon. — 841, Turkish Guard.— 870, 
Motamed — Mohammedan heresies. 

Spain. — 801, Barcelona captured by the Franks. — 866, Alphonso the Great. — 
Moorish literary Era. 

France. — 800, Charlemagne, Emperor. — 814, Louis the Debonnaire. — 840, 
Charles the Bald.— 843, Treaty of Verdun. — 887, Charles the Fat, dep.— 
888, Eudes— 842-886, Norman Ravages. 

Germany.— 817, Louis. — 846-874, Sclavonian Incursions. — 881, Charles the 
Fat.— 888, Arnulph — 899, Louis IV, the Child. 

Italy. — 817, Bernard d. — 844, Louis II. — 893, Berenger of Friuli. — 896, 
Arnulph, Emperor. 

Britain. — 800, Egbert. — 832, Danish Invasions. — 872, Alfred the Great. — 
871,876 Battles of Wilton and Edindon.— 900, Death of Alfred.— Anglo- 
Saxon constitution. 

Church. — 854, Pope Joan (Benedict II.). — 861, Greek Schism — Saint Worship. 
—867, Adrian II. 

GREEK ExMPIRE. 

With the reign of Nicephorus I. recommenced the reverses of the 
empire. His character was stained with the odious vices of avarice 
and hypocrisy ; nor was his want of virtue redeemed by any superior 
talents. The Arabs destroyed Heraclea on the Euxine, took Cyprus, 
devastated Rhodes, and compelled the emperor to pay tribute, a. d. 807. 
About four years later, the Bulgarians utterly exterminated an imperial 
army, and slew Nicephorus who commanded in person. Michael I. 
endeavoured to check these barbarians, but was vanquished at Adriano- 
ple, and deposed in favour of Leo V. the Armenian, 813, in whose reign 
also Thrace was ravaged, Adrianople reduced, and 50,000 prisoners 
transported beyond the Danube. On the death of the Bulgarian chiet 
who had conducted these invasions, Leo penetrated into the heart of his* 



NINTH CENTURY A. D. 213 

country, and compelled the new khan to conclude a peace for thirty 
years. This interval of repose, so honourably procured, was employed 
in restoring- the ruined cities, and re-establishing- order in the adminis- 
tration of the empire. Michael, afterwards emperor, who had assisted in 
investing - Leo with the purple, being - dissatisfied with the rewards that 
had been showered upon him, entered into various conspiracies, which 
were severally detected ; and at last the ungrateful Phrygian was sen- 
tenced to be burned alive in the furnace of the baths. But a brief delay 
in the execution of this cruel order, cost the emperor his life. On the 
morning of Christmas-day, a body of conspirators, disguised as priests, 
with arms beneath their dresses, intruded themselves into his private 
chapel, and rushed upon him just as he began to chant the first psalm. 
He long and vigorously defended himself with a weighty cross he had 
grasped, till a vv ell-aimed blow severed his right arm from his body. 
As he fell, his cry for pity was savagely answered, " This is the hour 
of vengeance, not of mercy !" 820. — Michael II. the Stammerer was 
carried from his prison to the throne, which he disgraced by his vices. 
Thomas the Cappadocian disputed his title, and laid siege to the capital ; 
but falling into the power of the monarch, he suffered the mutilation of 
his hands and feet. 

The Arabs, still continuing their incursions, circumscribed the Greek 
possessions in Italy to the city of Naples, 820 : in 823 they conquered 
Crete, and Sicily in 827. 

Theophilus the Unfortunate, a just and brave prince, punished the 
murderers of Leo V., embellished as well as fortified Constantinople, 
and patronised the arts and sciences. He several times attacked the 
Arabs, but eventually lost Ancyra, and his native town Amorium. 
Michael III., 842, ascended the throne at the age of five years, under 
the regency of his prudent mother Theodora ; but as he grew up he threw 
off her easy yoke, and imitating the vices of Nero and Heliogabalus, 
became as contemptible as he was odious. The factions of the circus 
were revived ; the safety of the empire was neglected for the result of a 
horse-race; and the ceremonies of religion were profaned by his impiety. 
In this reign began the separation between the Greek and Latin churches, 
in the excommunication of Photius, whose election to the patriarchate 
had been disapproved by Nicholas I. The infatuated prince was mur- 
dered in an hour of intoxication, and the sceptre passed to the 

Macedonian Dynasty, a. d. 867. — Basil I. was said to count among 
his ancestors the Persian Arsacides, the great Constantine, and the 
Macedonian Alexander. His youth had been spent among the Bulga- 
rians; but, uniting with some fellow-captives, he boldly made his way to 
the Grecian capital. Here he gradually rose to the highest offices of 
state, not more by his great personal merits than by his compliance with 
the vices of the emperor; and under this founder of the new dynasty the 
empire began to revive from its decay. He passed the Euphrates, forced 
several emirs to acknowledge his power, protected Dalmatia and the 
rising city of Ragusa against the Aglabites, and re-established the throne 
of Lombardy by expelling the Arabs from Apulia and Calabria. His 
arms were formidable to the barbarians, while his prudent administration 
in financial matters replenished an exhausted treasury, and promoted the 
happiness of his people. He began the revisal of the Justinian code; 
and the Basilics, completed by his son, are an honour to his genius and 



214 MIDDLE AGES. 

philanthropy. Accident put an end to his life in a stag-hunt, and he 
was succeeded by Leo VI. the Philosopher, 886, who trod in the steps 
of his father. He was not, however, equally successful in his foreign 
wars, being compelled to yield to the superior valour of the Arabs and 
Bulgarians. His marriage to a fourth wife, Zoe, caused a schism be- 
tween him and the church. He died in 911. 

ARABIA. 

The political decline of the Arabian empire began in the reign of its 
greatest caliph, Haroun. In 756, Spain became independent; in 789, 
Fez was built, destined to be the capital of a petty kingdom ; and at the 
end of the century the Aglabite dynasty was founded, which governed 
a territory extending from Tunis to the Egyptian frontier. It was in 
combating against a rebel chief in Khorassan that Haroun al Raschid 
met his death, 808. 

Almamon, a. n. 813, after several years of internal dissension, raised 
himself to the throne of his father. He continued the patronage which 
the other had accorded to literature, eagerly seeking and translating the 
philosophical writings of Greece. In his reign, a degree of the great 
circle of the earth was measured, determining the circumference of the 
globe at 24,000 miles. In the science of medicine, Rhazes and Avi- 
cenna rank with Hippocrates ; and chemistry, though degraded by being 
connected with alchymy, owes its origin and improvement to the Ara- 
bians. Al Motassem, who had succeeded Almamon, in 833, was 
recalled from quelling some civil commotions, to face the active Theo- 
philus, 838. One dearly-purchased battle, followed by the obstinate 
siege of Amorium, which had fallen into the power of the Greeks, 
terminated a war in which 200,000 lives were sacrificed. 

Arab Sects. — Motassem was unable to take advantage of his successes ; 
for, while the Greeks were pressing him in the north, he had to contend with 
formidable internal enemies. Heresies appeared in Islamism almost from its 
very commencement ; in 659 the Karidjies took exception to the doctrines of 
fatalism, and it was one of this sect that assassinated Ali. In 737, new attacks 
were made upon several of the dogmas and practices of the Mohammedans. 
In 742, Djead Ibn Dirkhem impugned the Koran, denying its divine origin, 
and founded a considerable sect in the East. In 758, Achmet Ravendi preached 
the Indian tenet of metempsychosis, and pretended that the soul of Adam had 
been transmitted to the body of the Caliph Almonsor. Seventeen years later, 
Hakem with the golden mask revived this doctrine and added to its absurdities. 
When he was besieged in the city to which he had retired, and was on the 
point of falling into the hands of the orthodox Mussulmans, he set fire to his 
habitation and flung himself into the midst of the flames, exclaiming, " I depart 
for heaven ; let him who desires to share in my felicity imitate my example." 
His wife, children, and partisans, all precipitated themselves into the burning 
mass. 

But of all those various heresies, the one which was checked with the greatest 
amount of human suffering was that of Babek Khourrerrimi. The Persians 
had long been regarded as the freest and most civilised people of the East ; and, 
after the Arabs had destroyed their empire, being unable to struggle with their 
conquerors in the open field, they cunningly sapped the power and religious 
authority of the caliph by propagating doctrines in opposition to those of the 
Koran. Their most daring advocate was Babek, u ho proclaimed the indiffer 
ence of human actions, and a community of goods. — opinions that tended to 
dissolve all society, civil, political, or religious. So numerous were his followers 



NINTH CENTURY A. D. 215 

*,hat for twenty years he was able to contend against the Caliphs of Bagdad. 
The quelling of this revolt, which is said to have cost the lives of a million of 
men, failed to eradicate entirely the doctrines of Babek. 

Motassem, to support his tottering throne, introduced into his armies 
and palace a body of 50,000 Turks, a warlike Tartar race from beyond 
the Oxus, 841. These praetorian guards, despising the weakness of 
their employers, soon provoked the public indignation by their licentious 
behaviour. Motawakkel, the cruel son of Motassem, was murdered in 
his palace by these barbarians ; and Montasser, stained with his father's 
blood, was placed on the throne in 862. The mercenary soldiers now 
assumed the right of choosing their sovereign, and the rapid succession 
of caliphs perplexes the historian. Every province began to shake off 
its allegiance; new principalities were formed in Syria and Mesopo- 
tamia ; and the caliphate at last was confined to the city of Bagdad. 
The Emir of Egypt, formerly a Turkish slave, assumed the sovereign 
power in 869, and founded the dynasty of Thelonides. The Aglabites, 
as well as the Edrisites, had already made themselves independent in 
Africa ; both of whom were subdued by the Fatimites in 912. 

Motamed, 870, had to contend not only against revolted chiefs but also 
against, impious sectarians. In the twentieth year of his reign the doctrines of 
Babek were revived by Abdallah, but they were preached in secret, and only 
fully revealed to those who had undergone a course of six preparatory tests, 
and it was not until the seventh of the series that these opinions, subversive of 
all religion and morality, were clearly developed. One of Abdallah's mission- 
aries, surnamed Karmath, did not imitate the prudence of his chief; but when 
he had gained over a certain number of partisans, raised the standard of revolt 
against the caliph, defeated several generals, and recruited his own army by 
his successes and the license granted to his soldiers. Mecca was taken by 
these insurgents, when thirty thousand Islamites perished in defence of the 
Caaba. A hundred battles were fought before the sect of the Karmathia^ 
was exterminated. 

Read : Crichton's History of Arabia, 2 vols, in the Edinburgh Cabinet 
library. 

SPAIN. 

The Caliphate. — The reigns of Hashem I. and Hakem I., Abdal- 
rahman's successors, were troubled by rivals to the throne, and by the 
Franks who took Lerida, plundered the environs of Huesca, and laid 
I siege to Barcelona, which, after a lengthened blockade, fell into their 
I hands in 801. To repel these invaders, the caliph, Hakem, established 
i a regular military force, and equipped a numerous fleet, which ravaged 
the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, but without making any 
i permanent conquest. Four years before his death, a sedition which 
| broke out in the suburbs of Cordova was severely repressed ; three 
I hundred of the rioters were impaled, and the remainder, to the number 
\ of fifteen thousand, transported to Africa. The attacks of the Christians 
| of Oviedo, who advanced as far as the Tagus, and the revolts of the 
I Arabian governors under Hakem's successors, brought premature decay 
| on the caliphate. Still it was at this period that a troop of Spanish 
Moors became the terror of Italy and Provence. A small party of 
Saracens took the village of Fraxinet by surprise, and from this almost 
i inaccessible position ravaged the neighbouring country, isolating them- 
selves entirely from the rest of Provence on the landward side, while 



216 MIDDLE AGES. 

the sea lay before them always exposed to their piratical expedi- 
tions. The destruction of Frejus opened the passes into Italy, of 
which they instantly took possession, whence they devastated Bur- 
gundy and even Swabia by sudden incursions. They long occupied 
the fortified monastery of St. Maurice in Transjurane Burgundy ; and 
traces of their establishments may still be seen in Switzerland and 
Provence. 

Christian Spain. — The Christians had met with almost uninter- 
rupted success until about the middle of this century, when they were 
checked by internal disorder, and by the ravages of the Northmen on 
the coast of Biscay. Ordogno I. defeated these barbarians, vanquished 
the Emir of Saragossa, and extended the frontiers of the kingdom of 
Leon to the river Tormes. In 866, Alphonso the Great, who had been 
expelled from Oviedo by the governor of Galicia, returned after the 
rebel's death, and conquered the insurgent Count of Alava. He con- 
ducted thirty successful campaigns against the infidels, seized on the 
country between the Douro and the Minho, and forced the Moors to sue 
for a truce of six years. But domestic troubles put an end to his con- 
quests ; and as his subjects murmured at the heavy taxes imposed to 
fortify the frontier towns, he was compelled to abdicate in favour of his 
son, 910. He died the next year in battle against the Arabs, fighting as 
general of the army. 

FRANCE. 

Origin of Modern France, a. d. 840. — Louis the Debonnaire 
succeeded his father, 814 ; but the mighty empire of Charlemagne had 
already begun to decay. It was the misfortune of Louis to mistake 
petty reforms for a salutary attention to the public good. His life was 
passed in a long struggle against three sons, who were supported by the 
clergy in their violation of all filial duties. Alternately victorious and 
vanquished, he was once actually deposed by Pope Gregory IV. At 
his death in 840, the kingdoms of Germany and France were for ever 
separated ; the former being assigned to Louis, the latter to Charles 
the Bald, while Lothaire inherited the rest of the imperial dominions. 
The last appears to have entertained a design of universal monarchy, 
but his schemes were frustrated by the battle of Fontenay, which, with 
the alliance of Strasburg, contributed to produce the celebrated treaty of 
Verdun, 8-13. Charles had to contend against the Northmen and Bre- 
tons on the banks of the Seine and of the Loire. The people of Aqui- 
tania took up arms successively in favour of Pepin II. and of Louis of 
Germany, in order to form an independent kingdom ; but, in the end, 
they were incorporated with Neustrian France, which maintained over 
them a nominal supremacy. The deaths of Lothaire and his three sons 
were the cause of fresh divisions. The kings of Germany and France, 
by the treaty of Mersen, shared the dominions of Louis II., the emperor; 
but Charles soon boldly laid hands on the German portion and wrested 
Provence from his rival. 

The death of Louis II. having created a vacancy in the empire, the 
King of France hastened to Rome, where he received the diadem from 
the hands of Pope John VIII., to which was afterwards added the iron 
crown of Lombardy. After the demise of Charles the Bald, the imperial 



NINTH CENTURY A. D. 217 

throne remained unoccupied until 881, during part of which time Louis 
the Stammerer ruled over France, which he exhausted hy his pro- 
digalities. His sons Louis III. and Carloman, who succeeded, aban- 
doned French Lorraine to the King of Saxony, at the same time that 
Boson detached the Burgundian provinces from France. By the treaty 
of Amiens, concluded in 880, the two brothers made a partition of their 
father's inheritance : Louis was declared king of Neustria, and Carlo- 
man obtained Aquitaine with a right of Burgundy. 

In the same year, the two French princes met in congress at Gondre- 
ville with the two kings of Germany, Louis the Saxon, and Charles of 
Swabia, all being alike interested in the defence of their dominions 
against the Northmen, and of the Carlovingian legitimacy against a 
usurping aristocracy. But this royal league attained no better success 
than those which had preceded it. The wife of Boson held Vienne 
against the united efforts of three kings ; and, though she at length 
yielded to one of Carloman's lieutenants, the crown of Provence never- 
theless remained on the head of the usurper. A brilliant victory gained 
ever the Northmen at Saucourt in Vimeux, covered the Neustrian 
sovereign with a renown that was long celebrated in the popular songs. 
But Louis III. did not live to realize the hopes that the nation enter- 
t ;ined of him. His death, which happened in 882, reunited the two 
crowns of France on the head of Carloman, who descended to the tomb 
in 884. His heir was a posthumous brother, whom the Franks excluded 
from the throne on account of his youth, and elected Charles the Fat 
in his place. This monarch, who had previously been crowned emperor, 
ruled over a territory not less extensive than that of Charlemagne, but 
his weakness was unable to support the heavy burden, and, under the 
pretext of his inability to defend the empire against the northern pirates, 
he was deposed by his vassals, 887. 

Eudes, a. d. 887. — On the deposition of Charles, there was not in 
France, among the many independent princes, one who was capable of 
seizing the crown and inspiring due respect for his power. Yet the 
remembrance of the exploits of Count Eudes, the defender of Paris, 
induced most of the bishops and nobles of Neustria to proclaim him 
king. There remained, however, one descendant of Charlemagne, 
Charles the Simple, who had been excluded on account of his youth 
from all the Carlovingian thrones to which he had any claim. Eudes 
had two other competitors, descended from the first emperor of the West 
by the female side: these were Guy, duke of Spoleto, and Arnulph, 
king of Germany. But their distance from the scene of action, and the 
necessity of directing their forces to another quarter, left the new king 
in undisturbed possession of the crown. The whole of France did not 
acknowledge this sovereign : the Count of Poitiers, duke of Aquitaine, 
was independent, and even bore the title of king; the Duke of Brittany 
assumed the royal authority; as did also the Dukes of Gascony and 
Burgundy, w T ith the Counts of Flanders, Vermandois, and Anion. 
Eudes justified anew r the choice of his vassals by delivering Paris from 
another siege, and defeating in the terrible battle of Montfaucon the 
Northmen, who lost 19,000 men. Emboldened by this success, he com- 

f>elled the discontented princes to acknowledge his authority, and when 
le died in 898, named Charles III. for his successor. The rustory 
19 



2!^ MIDDLE AGES. 

of the twelve succeeding 3 T ears is entirely unknown, except that the 

ravages of the northern invaders were still continued with their usual 

ferocity.* 

CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY. 
**** ****** 

6. Eudes, k. 888, t 39S t. Charles the Bald, 5. Charles the Fat, 

k. 840, t 879. k. 884, | 888, 



8. Robert I. k. 923, 2. Louis II., the Stammerer, 9. Rodoli-h, k. 9-23, 
t 923. k. 877, j 879. t 936. 
_J 

3. Louis III., k. 879. 4. Carloman, k. 879, f £84. 7. Charles the Simple. 

f 8b2. . k. S'.)3, dep. 923. 



10. Louis IV., Outremer, 
k. 936, f 954. 



11. Lotuaire, k. 954 f 986. Charles, duke of Basse Lorraine, 

/ * . excluded from the throne. 

J2. Louis V., k. 986, f 987. 

THE NORTHMEN. 

The Northmen were originally from the countries now known as Denmark, 
Norway, and Sweden. This people professed the warlike religion of Odin, 
who in times beyond the reach of credible history had quitted the banks of the 
Tanais, and conquered most of the regions on the Baltic. This warrior gave 
laws to his followers, and established a religious system, perfectly in harmony 
with their wants, which could only be satisfied by war. He was himself the 
principal divinity, adored as the father of carnage. His people, whose chief oc- 
cupation appears to have been piracy, infested all the seas of the North until 
the beginning of the eleventh century, when Christianity had softened their 
manners, and attached these vagrant adventurers to their native soil. At this 
period the history of the Scandinavian states assumes an air of greater credibility, 
without, however, inspiring deeper interest. To know these ancient inhabitants 
of the north, it will be necessary to follow them beyond the boundaries of their 
own country. From the fourth century they carried desolation to Rome and 
even into Africa ; and, though restrained by the vigilance of Charlemagne, 
they found all the passages open under his successors. Their rude barks, im- 
pelled at once by sails and oars, and bearing each about 100 men, wasted the 
shores of western Europe, ascended the rivers, and pillaged all on which they 
could lay hands. In 843, they entered France by the Seine, and plundered 
Rouen ; another fleet, sailing up the Loire, devastated Touraine. In the follow- 
ing year, they made simultaneous descents on England, France and Spain. 
They afterwards reached Paris, which they burnt in the face of Charles the 
Bald, who was intrenched at St. Denis. Between 845 and 861, the modern 
capital of France was thrice ravaged by these daring barbarians. In 886, they 
reappeared, but met with a vigorous resistance — Eurles, count of Paris, whose 
valour afterwards raised him to the throne, animating the citizens to repel the 
invasion by force. He was aided by the courageous Bishop Goslin, who every 
day, after having given his benediction to the people, placed himself in the 
breach, with a helmet on his head and a battle-axe in his hand, and planting 
his crosier on the ramparts, fought heroically in defence of the city. One of 
the pirate chiefs, Rollo, tired of his wandering life, and desirous of a permanent 
settlement, obtained the territory which extends from the rivers Andelle and 

♦Charles the Bald, 840, is by many considered the first kin? of France, properly so 
called ; others date the commencement of the French monarchy and nation from 388, 
when the people dwelling between the Mense and the Loire became French; they con- 
sequently reckon Endes as the first king. France long preserved the limits assigned by 
the treaty of Verdun, 843, all beyond being derived from the conquests of the fourteenth 
century. The Romance became the language of the court ; and by gradual changes it 
formed the polished dialect of Louis XIV. Under the sons of Clovis, the name of France 
appears to have been first used. 



NINTH CENTURY A. D. 219 

Aure to the Ooean. To this was afterwards added the country between the 
Andelle and Epte, with Brittany. In return, the Norman was baptized by the 
name of Robert, and entering the Christian communion, did homage by the 
title of Duke of Normandy, 912. His country afforded greater security than 
the rest of France: labourers returned, population increased, towns were 
rebuilt, monasteries and churches repaired, and laws enacted for the punish- 
ment of the evil-doer. Besides the Normans, the Saracens from Africa made 
frequent incursions into France, and established a colony at Fraxinet (now La 
Garde) in Provence, where they continued independent for many centuries. 

Read : Crichton's Scandinavia, Ancient and Modern, 2 vols, in the Edin- 
burgh Cabinet Library. 

GERMANY. 

Louis the German, son of Louis the Debonnaire who received 
Germany as his heritage, had not only to combat against the Normans, 
but all the Sclavonic tribes on the eastern frontiers of his dominions. 
To repel their ravages, it was necessary, in Germany as well as in 
France, to create officers (margraves) charged with the duty of guard- 
ing the frontiers against all invaders. From 84G to 874, the barbarians 
on the eastern borders were in a state of almost continual insurrection ; 
in the latter year, however, most of the Sclavonic tribes swore fealty to 
Louis at the diet of Forcheim. These wars did not prevent the German 
monarch from observing what was passing in the other Carlovingian 
states. After the death of Lothaire and his son, to whom Lorraine had 
been allotted, he divided this province with Charles the Bald ; thereby 
augmenting his kingdom by the cities of Basle, Strashurg, Metz, 
Cologne, Treves, Utrecht, and Aix-la-Chapelle. Louis II., another of 
Lothaire's children, who possessed Italy with the title of emperor, dying 
in 875, Louis the German, as the eldest survivor of the Carlovingian 
dynasty, was desirous to obtain his dominions; but in this he was an- 
ticipated by the activity of Charles the Bald. 

In the following year, Louis the German expired, leaving three sons 
to share his dominions. Carloman had Bavaria, with Carinthia, Aus- 
tria, Moravia, and Bohemia ; Louis the Young received Eastern 
France, Thuringia, Saxony, Frisia, and part, of Lorraine ; and Charles 
the Fat obtained Swahia, Alsace, and Switzerland. But this arrange- 
ment was soon disturbed, first by the death of Carloman, and next by 
the decease of Louis of Saxony. Charles the Fat, in consequence, 
reunited without much trouble all the Germanic states, to which he 
added Italy, with the dignity of the imperial throne. In his reign the 
Normans ravaged all the country south of the Rhine from the sea to 
Mentz; Cologne and Aix-la-Chapelle w r ith other cities were reHuced to 
ashes ; the palace of Charlemagne was converted into a stable, and for 
eight years remained in that degraded condition. To remove these 
formidable enemies, Charles raised a numerous army, and besieged 
them in their camp at Maestrich, but just as they were on the point of 
surrendering, he offered to give them 2400 pounds of silver to evacuate 
a position no longer tenable. In 884, his difficulties were increased by 
the death of Carloman and the offer of the throne of France. But how 
could he protect his new kingdom, when he had proved himself unable 
to maintain the honour of the five other crowns which had fallen to 
him ] The Normans continued their incursions, and besieged Paris, 
which was. nobly defended by Eudes. The imbecility of the emperor 



220 MIDDLE AGES. 

becoming every day more evident, he was deposed at the diet of Tribur 
on the Rhine, 887. 

Arnulph was the newly-elected king of Germany. His policy was 
a continuation of the imperial system : he sought to bring back Italy 
and Burgundy to his obedience, to revive the homage of the French 
monarch, and to be crowned emperor. At the diet of Worms in 888, 
and also in 893, he received the fealty of the various competitors for the 
crown of France. He made a vigorous resistance to the Norman 
invaders, and in a battle fought near the Dyle routed them with great 
slaughter, two kings being killed and thirteen standards captured, 896. 
The Sclavonians also were reduced to seek peace by the decisive 
measures of the new sovereign. Of the fruit of his expeditions into 
Italy he retained little more than the imperial title ; and not long after 
his return to Germany, he expired at Ratisbon, 899, where his tomb 
may still be seen. 

ITALY. 

On the death of Charlemagne, a. d. 814, Bernard the son of Pepin 
obtained the kingdom of Italy; but rebelling against his uncle Louis, 
who inherited the empire, he was condemned to lose his eyes, — a pun- 
ishment which was so cruelly inflicted as to cause his death, 817. The 
son and lieutenant of Lothaire, afterwards Louis II., who kept the 
Romans in obedience, compelled also the Dukes of Benevento to respect 
the imperial authority, and drove the Saracens from Apulia. In 844, 
his father resigned to him the Italian provinces. This peninsula was 
incessantly menaced by Sclavonian tribes in the direction of Friuli, by 
the Mohammedans on the southern shores, by the Normans, whose 
vessels approached even the coasts of Tuscany, and also by the Greeks, 
who were always ready to support the rebellious dukes of Benevento, 
Friuli, and Spoleto, the princes of Salerno, or the counts of Capua. 
The Aglabite Saracens of Africa had possessed Messina and Palermo 
since the year 832; from which ports they ravaged all maritime Italy, 
and threatened Rome, the suburbs of which they destroyed by fire. 
But Gregory IV. fortified against them the city of Ostia, and Leo IV., 
surrounding with walls the churches of the apostles Peter and Paul on 
the Vatican mount, formed a new quarter, called by the inhabitants the 
Leonine city, and which protected Rome on the Tuscan side. Some 
r ime afterwards, the people of Amalfi, Naples, and Gaeta, who were 
enacting on a smaller scale the part which Genoa and Venice performed 
somewhat later, entered into a league against the infidels, and, by the 
destruction of their fleet, checked their plundering expeditions for several 
years. But the Saracens re-appeared more formidable than ever ; and 
when two competitors disputed the duchy of Benevento, Louis, hoping 
to terminate their differences, divided it between them, giving to one, 
Benevento with the eastern slope of the Apennines, to the other, Salerno 
with the western declivity. He thus weakened the only power that 
could have effectually guarded the shores of Southern Italy. Soon, in 
fact, all the cities and monasteries were pillaged by the Saracens, who 
advanced even to the convent of Mount Cassino, the abbot of which 
was forced to pay a ransom of three thousand gold pieces. In self- 
defence Louis was compelled to make an appeal to all the military 
population of Italy ; though an alliance with the Greek emperor, who 



NINTH CENTURY A. D. 



221 



o o - 



P 1 



1* 3 ■ 

& P3 2> 

V CD ^ 

*■ oo ai 



2,3 s, 



•n 









2. ^ 



2 ^ 



!«. Q 



2, N 



to 3 



> 3 

2. O" 



as 'Z 



S I -+ f 



3 £ 

i -* 



3" t- 1 



a. ?r <i 
f O Q 

o ~> a 



J a § 



5? o > ': 






s £< 



o » 



o 



19* 



S - 



d 

— 

o 

f 3 



■ff 

03 3 



2 ~ ~ - 

ill! 





S. 




-t 


PT 


» 


O 6* 


« 


"■•» S 


3 


Q »' 


•O 


« g, 


GD 


3 » 


£ 


3 2 




^ 3 


00 


a 


4- 


oo a 


© 






P " 




' 9 








Z' 




» 








S" 








s 




b 












"J 




ft- 




f» 








R. 




3 




J rJ J 


. 



222 MIDDLE AGES. 

sent him two hundred vessels, was more useful to him. Bari was 
recovered from the Saracens, and Otranto besieged; but the treachery 
and rebellion of the Duke of Benevento neutralized this success; and 
when Louis died in 87a, Southern Italy, divided between the Greeks, 
Saracens, -and dukes of Benevento, who had transferred their allegiance 
to the Byzantine court, was entirely detached from the Frank monarchy. 
In the central portion of the peninsula, the pope, who had become a 
temporal prince in consequence of the donations of Pepin and Charle- 
magne, no longer sought from their successors the confirmation of his 
election before seating himself in St. Peter's chair. Lastly, in the 
northern section were several powerful feudal princes, whose ambition 
harassed those fine provinces for nearly a century. 

Louis the German, being the eldest surviving prince of the Carlovin- 
gian dynasty, claimed Italy; but was anticipated by Charles the Bald, 
who had passed the Alps with a numerous army, and hastened to Rome, 
where the pope and citizens appeared to be the sole persons invested 
with the right of conferring the imperial dignity. Subsequent events 
placed that country, with the rest of the Frank empire, in the hands of 
Charles the Fat, again to be divided on the deposition of this monarch 
in 888. Guy, duke of Spoleto, and Berenger, duke of Benevento, dis- 
puted the crown of Italy, the river Adige forming the boundary of their 
respective ominions. Guy, who was proclaimed king at the diet of 
Pavia, went to Rome and was crowned Emperor and King of the 
Romans, having associated his son Lambert in the imperial dignity, 
891. Arnulph of Germany did not look with indifference on the pro- 
gress of affairs southward of the Alps, and to vindicate his claims to 
the titles usurped by Guy, crossed the mountains and advanced as far 
as Piacenza, without gaining the object of his expedition, 894. Two 
years later he proceeded to Rome, and was consecrated emperor by 
Pope Formosus. After the retreat of the German, Lambert effected a 
reconciliation with Berenger, who preserved the title of king, which 
had been conferred on him by the Lombard nob'es. immediately after 
the death of Charles the Fat. 

BRITAIN. 

From the mission of Augustin to the accession of Egbert, king of 
Wessex, the history of Britain offers little worthy of the historian'* 
notice, except the quarrels of the petty rulers, the erection of numerous 
convents, the frequent pilgrimages to Rome, and the levying of Peter- 
pence, a tax of one penny on each family to be paid annually to the 
Roman see. 

Egbert, a. d. 800, who had been elected king of Wessex, added the 
tributary states of Kent, Essex, Sussex, and East Anglia to his domin- 
ions, and compelled the independent sovereigns of Northumbria and 
Mercia to pay tribute. From this period England may be considered as 
forming a single kingdom, — a happy change to a nation which, by its 
insular position, seemed protected against foreign invasion. But that 
which might have been considered as an advantage became the primary 
cause of its ruin ; and the Anglo-Saxon monarchy was doomed to sup- 
port in succession the yoke of the Northmen of Denmark and of the 
Neustrian Normans. The descents of the Danes, begun in 793. were 



NINTH CENTURY A. D. 223 

resumed in 832, but were checked by the victories of Egbert. These 
inroads became more terrible and more frequent when, after Ethelwolf's 
death in 857, the partition of his territory and the quarrels of the several 
princes exposed this island, like France, to those pirates. Here per- 
manent settlements were founded by the Danes earlier than on the Con- 
tinent; and, supported by the alliances of the Welsh and Scotch, they 
subjugated at first East Anglia, and finally the whole kingdom. 

Alfred, a.d. 871. — One great man sufficed to check the conquests 
of the Danes for nearly a century. Alfred, the youngest of Ethelwolf's 
sons, carried to the throne all the virtues of a philosopher with the 
qualities of a hero. Seven years of misfortune taught him wisdom and 
moderation. After the disastrous result of the battle of Wilton, 871, 
everything appeared lost, when the victory of Edindon in Wiltshire 
restored to him the heritage of his brother, then in possession of the 
foreigner, 878. The Danes of East Anglia and Northumbria recognised 
his authority and embraced the Christian faith, to which course they 
were influenced by the example of Gothrun their ruler. The country 
being now at peace, Alfred turned his mind to the civilisation and 
security of his people. London, which he enlarged and fortified, became 
the capital and naval arsenal of the kingdom; and the ships construct- 
ed in its port served to protect the distant coasts and harbours, or were 
employed in promoting commerce. Prosperity began to reappear under 
this prince, who was equally capable of maintaining the national peace 
by his laws and by his sword. To facilitate the administration of jus- 
tice, Alfred introduced or revived the division of the whole kingdom 
into counties, hundreds, and tithings ; the laws of Ina, Offa, and Ethel- 
bert were collected and remodelled ; and the clergy, ashamed of their 
ignorance, applied to study, that they might gratify a monarch who 
founded schools and invited the most learned of all nations to his court 
But his great designs perished with him a.d. 901 ; and the rival of 
Charlemagne was not more fortunate than his model. 

Character of Alfred. 

Alfred is celebrated not only for the fifty-six battles which he fought in de- 
fence of his kingdom, but also for the efforts he made to civilize his subjects. 
In his court were seen Asser, the learned Welshman, Grim bald of Rheims, 
John Erigena (the Irishman), and Plegmund, archbishop of Canterbury. He 
left several compositions of his own in prose and verse, remarkable for their 
imagination and that pomp of figure peculiar to the ancient Germanic languages. 
He translated the Consolations of Philosophy by Boethius, and greatly enhanced 
the value of the original work by his commentaries ; he also rendered intu 
Anglo-Saxon the fables of JEsop, the Ecclesiastical History of the venerable 
Bede, the Geography of Orosius, to which he annexed much important mattet 
on Germany, and on a voyage towards the Arctic Pole.* In addition to his 
other accomplishments he cultivated poetry with a success that places him on a 
level with any of the bards of his own time. His private character has been 
thus summed up; — "He was humble to all, affable in conversation, mild in 
transacting business, venerable in aspect, serene in countenance, moderate even 
iu his walk, sincere, upright, calm, temperate, and charitable," to which may 
be added the traditional epithet of " truth-teller." All his lite Alfred was oc- 
cupied in devising means for the happiness of his subjects, while his own was 
almost hourly interrupted by an excruciating pain, which did not quit him from 
his twentieth year to the day of his death. 



* The mission which Alfred sent to the Christians of India, is of itself a proof of the 
^«ographical knowledge of this prince. 



224 MIDDLE AGES. 

Anglo-Saxon Constitution. 

In that form of government instituted by the Saxons may be found the germs 
of that constitution which has been characterized as the envy and the admiration 
of the world. This warlike people, jealous to an excess of their liberty, were 
governed by elective chiefs, who were generally selected from the same family ; 
but their authority was precarious and controlled by the regulations of the 
national assembly called the Witenagemot — assembly of wise men. After the 
introduction of Christianity, the Bishops and abbots became members of these 
assemblies ; but the vanquished Britons were never allowed to form part of 
rhem. The thanes or lords were the highest class; the ceorls or free men 
constituted the second ; while the third class or serfs was composed of the 
ancient inhabitants of the country, of the prisoners of war, and of those Saxons, 
who had from one cause or another been reduced to slavery. Every free male 
of twelve years of age was required to be enrolled in some tithing, the members 
of which were accountable for each other's conduct (frank-pledge). The prin- 
cipal seat of justice was then the county court : the various members assembled 
twice a-year, under the presidency of a bishop and an alderman, charged with 
the civil and military administration. To these was added the sheriff, who re- 
lieved them of part of their duties. The judicial authority did not belong 
exclusively to these magistrates ; for in certain cases justice was administered 
by twelve freeholders on oath. Crimes were atoned for by pecuniary penalties, 
at first given to the plaintiff, but afterwards divided between him and the 
government. This organization was still imperfect ; nevertheless it existed, 
was recognised, and appealed to by those who violated or protected it. To 
this the Saxons owed the comparatively mild treatment they received from the 
Normans, who did not oppress them like the unfortunate Britons. 

THE CHURCH. 

While zealous missionaries were disseminating Christianity among 
the numerous barbarous tribes that still roamed in the wild forests of 
northern Europe, the clergy were corrupting its simplicity by their im- 
piety and licentious lives. Few of the prelates who sat in St. Peter's 
chair were distinguished either for learning or virtue. Monastic insti- 
tutions were then in high esteem, and men of all ranks deserted their 
proper sphere of duty to take shelter in the gloom and leisure of the 
cloister. But as such retreats were not free from irregularity, many 
councils were held to repress their disorders, and to establish the far- 
famed rule of St. Benedict. The study of the Holy Scriptures almost 
ceased in the Greek and Latin churches ; while the veneration paid to 
the fictitious relics of the departed saints, and the multiplication of 
canonized individuals, proved the ignorance and depravity of the priest- 
hood. 

Greek Schism. — The son of Theodora, led into vicious habits by 
the example of his uncle Bardas, and irritated by the remonstrances of 
the patriarch Ignatius, threw this faithful minister into prison, and' 
elevated in his stead the learned Photius, a captain of his guards. This 
change was approved of by a council, which did not however prevent 
Pope Nicholas I. from excommunicating the intruder, who in his defence 
made use of the same spiritual weapon. Soon afterwards, the tragical 
end of his two protectors left Photius without any support; and Basil, 
the new emperor, deposed him and restored Ignatius, a proceeding which 
was ratified by the eighth general council. The death of the latter in 
877 restored to Photius the patriarchal dignity; and Pope John VIII. 
received him into communion, hoping by this means to recover the 
government of the Bulgarians, which, since its foimation in 869, had 



TENTH CENTURY A. D. 225 

been under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. His expectations, how- 
ever, were disappointed ; and from this period the division became still 
wider between the Roman pontiff and the Greek patriarchs, until the 
complete separation of the two churches in 1054. 

Saint-worship. — One of the greatest corruptions grew out of the 
reverence paid to the memory of departed saints. " He whose heart," 
says Southey, " is not excited upon the spot which a martyr has sanc- 
tified by his sufferings, or at the grave of one who has largely benefited 
mankind, must be more inferior to the multitude in his moral, than he 
can possibly be raised above them in his intellectual nature." But the 
best things are the most easily abused. The prayer was at length 
offered to the martyr himself, and the remains of his body or the rags of 
garments, nay, even the instruments of his torture or death, became ob- 
jects of veneration. 

In this century the dangerous doctrine was first established by Adrian 
II., " that the pope- can release from the obligation of an oath !" Pope 
Nicholas, also, by his conduct in the divorce of Thietberga, wife of 
Lothaire II., king of Lorraine, and in the deposition of Rothad, hishop 
of Soissons, confirmed the principle on which reposes the supremacy of 
the apostolic chair, namely, that the decrees of the pontiff shall be re- 
ceived as law throughout the church. 



TENTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire. — 912, Constantine VII. — 919, Romanus I. — 963, Nicephorus 
I. — 969, John Zimisces. 

Italy. — Papal Disorders. — 962, Otho crowned Emperor.— 990, Crescentius. 

France. — 912, Normans established by Treaty. — 915, Feudal Aristocracy com- 
plete. — 987, Hugh Capet. 

Germany.— 911, Saxon Line.— 919, Henry the Fowler.— 936, Otho I.— 955, 
Battle of Augsburg. 

Britain.— 901, Edward the Elder.— 925, Athelstan — 937, Dunstan. 

Spain. — 912, Abdalrahman's Conquests — University of Cordova. — 932, Madrid 
taken by the Christians. 

Arabian Empire. — 936, Mohammed, Emir al Onira. — Fatimites in Egypt. 

Church. — 999, Pope Sylvester II. (Gerbert) — Odo of Cluny — Penance. 

Inventions. — Coats of Arms ; 1000, Arabic Numerals ; Watches. 

Learned Men. — Suidas, philosopher. —Gerbert (Pope Sylvester II.) — Olym- 
piodorus. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Constantine VII., Porphyrogenitus — born in the purple chamber — 
ascended the throne at the age of five years, a. d. 912, under the guar- 
dianship of his uncle Alexander, whose death, brought on by dissolute 
courses, saved the life of his ward. Zoe, who had been banished, was 
now recalled ; but she and all other competitors for the regency were 
forced to yield to the daring ambition of Romanus, a low-born soldier, 
who soon threw aside his mask, and caused himself to be proclaimed, in 
919, Caesar and Augustus, which titles he bore nearly twenty-five years. 



226 MIDDLE AGES. 

The lawful monarch escaped the usual fate of deposed princes in that 
age by his studious habits, mild character, and love of retirement. In 
945, he was restored to his throne by means of the usurper's sons, who 
conspired against their father's life. His second reign lasted fifteen 
years ; and when he died, in 959, the afflicted Greeks at once excused 
his vices and pitied his misfortunes. During the preceding fifty years, 
the empire was scarcely ever free from the attacks of the barbarians. 
The Bulgarians twice besieged Constantinople, in 913 and 916, defeated 
several of her generals, ravaged Macedonia and Thrace, took Adrianople, 
and even proclaimed their khan emperor in the suburbs of the Eastern 
capital, 922. The Russians also appeared before the imperial city with 
a thousand barks, and pillaged all the coasts of Asia Minor. Romanus 
II., a dissolute prince, appears to have adopted his father's example 
ratber than to have obeyed his precepts. His death was caused by 
poison administered by his vicious wife Theophania, in 963. 

Nicephorus II. united, in the popular opinion, the characters of a 
hero and a saint. In the preceding reign, he had recovered Candia from 
the Arabs ; and after his accession, which he owed to his marrying the 
late emperor's widow, he conquered Cyprus, Cilicia, and Antioch; from 
which last place he brought home as a trophy the sword of Mohammed. 
The Byzantine empire now began to recover, as that of the Saracens 
decayed ; and under John I. Zimisces, who had murdered his predeces- 
sor, even the cities beyond the Euphrates were added to his territory. 
He spent most of his time in the camp, and by his defeat of the 
Bulgarians and the Russians ensured the safety of the empire. This 
warlike ruler is said to have met with an untimely death by poison, pre- 
pared for him by those who dreaded the consequences of some meditated 
reforms, 976. 

Basil II. was acknowledged sovereign of Constantinople; but the 
early years of his reign were disturbed by the revolt of two veteran 
generals, Phocas and Sclerus, who oppressed Asia Minor. These 
enemies being defeated, he made several successful campaigns against 
the Saracens; but his most important triumph was the reduction of 
Bulgaria to a Grecian province,* in 1018. He was greedy, ignorant, 
and superstitious ; and, after a reign of nearly fifty years, died, neither 
loved n:>r respected, in 1025. 

ITALY. 

Adelaide. — After the death of Berenger I., the last duke of Friuli, 
his successors bore no other title than that of King of Italy. The young 
Lothaire II., who died childless, was succeeded in 950 by his guardian, 
Berenger II., marquis of Ivrea. This prince demanded for his son the 
hand of Lothaire's widow ; but on Adelaide's refusal to accept a deformed 
husband, he plundered her of her possessions with brutal violence, and 
confined her in a tower on the Guarda lake : she afterwards escaped by 
the aid of her almoner, who had contrived to make a secret passage 
. through the base of the building. Disguised in male attire, and accom- 
panied by the priest, she was conveyed in a fishing-boat to a neighbour- 



* In 1014, Basil pained a decisive victory over the Bulgarians, took fifteen thousand 
prisoners, who, after their eyes were plucked out, were sent hack to their own country 
Such a terrible spectacle hastened the death of their aged khan. 



TENTH CENTURY A. D. 227 

ing forest, where they subsisted some time on fish which was bestowed 
in charity. At length she found an asylum with a chieftain dependent 
on the Roman see; and, in 951, married Otho of Germany, who, after 
being called to her assistance in 948, had become a widower. In right 
of this union, the German sovereigns aspired to the royal and imperial 
dignities of Italy.* 

Papal Disorders. — The power of the popes was gradually confirmed, 
at the same time that their vicious lives were bringing the church 
into contempt. Two sisters of infamous character, Theodora and Ma- 
rozia, with their mother the Margravine of Tuscia, disposed of the triple 
crown at their pleasure. John XII., placed in the pontifical chair when 
only eighteen years of age, was charged with the most revolting crimes. 
To consolidate his authority, he solicited the assistance of Otho L, whose 
services, in quelling the sanguinary feuds which harassed Rome, were 
repaid with the title of emperor, in 962. He then assumed the appella- 
tions of Caesar and Augustus, and received the oaths of fidelity tendered 
by the pope and the Roman nobles. While he was occupied in Upper 
Italy in the reduction of a few castles which still held out, he learnt that 
the pontiff, discontented with the feudal superior whom he had recog- 
nised, was labouring to restore the vanquished Berenger. The emperor, 
hastily returning to Rome, assembled a council to inquire into the state 
of the papacy; and, by the decision of forty bishops and seventeen car- 
dinals, John was deposed for his scandalous life. He was succeeded 
by Leo VIII., who acknowledged Otho's claims to dispose of the crown 
of Italy as he pleased, to confirm the papal election, and to invest the 
prelates. But the country was never at peace, and the Romans lost no 
opportunity of endeavouring to throw off the barbarian yoke. 

Crescentius. — Circio, or Crescentius, on the demise of Otho I., 
headed an insurrection against the pope, whom he put to death in 974. 
With the title of consul he was master of Rome, and held the pontiff, 
whom he had himself appointed, in such subjection, that his holiness 
urgently solicited the German monarch to come to his relief. Otho III. 
arrived in Rome in the year 996, when he received the imperial crown, 
and two years after caused the demagogue to be thrown from the battle- 
ments of St. Angelo. His own death is said to have been caused by 
poison administered by the widow of Crescentius. 

FRANCE. 

On the death of Eudes in 898, the crown devolved on Charles the 
Simple, the legitimate sovereign, the history of the first twelve years 
of whose reign is entirely unknown, except that the ravages of the Nor- 
mans and Saracens were continued. This feeble prince expected to find 
an auxiliary in the Norman Rollo against his rebel barons, but this hope 
failed him when the nobles were excited to revolt, and their suffrages 
had conferred the crown on Robert, brother of the late king, Eudes, who 
perished in battle, and Charles, having fallen into the hands of the Count 

* The kingdom of Italy comprised the Italian Alps (except Savoy), the plains of the 
Po (except Venice), Istria, Tuscany, States of the Church, and the Abruzzi. In the 
south were the independent principalities of Benevento, Salerno, and Capua ; the dukes 
of Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi, suzerains of the Greek emperor; lastly, the territories 
of Bari, Otranto, and Calabria, under Grecian officers. The African Saracens held 
Sicily, except its eastern coast, with Malta, Corsica, and Sardinia. 



228 MIDDLE AGES. 

of Vermandois, beheld another prince, not of the royal family, seated on 
the throne, 923. This new usurper was Raoul or Rodolph, duke of 
Burgundy, who owed his elevation to the influence of his brother-in-law, 
Hugh the Great, count of Paris. The principal vassals of the South and 
the Norman dukes withheld their homage from Rodolph until 929, when 
Count Herbert of Vermandois had almost succeeded in restoring the 
deposed Charles. But the powerful support of Hugh maintained the 
interests of Rodolph ; and the necessity of union to repel the Hungarians 
produced a reconciliation between the vassals and their superior, which 
led to a defensive treaty between the kings of France, Germany, and 
Burgundy, in 935. 

Hugh possessed almost regal power during the reign of the succeed- 
ing monarch, Louis IV., who was surnamed Outremer, from his having 
resided in England. When this king expired, the sovereignty, which 
was not divided, was for the first time transmitted like the fiefs. Lo- 
thaire in 954, and Louis V. in 986, were the last of the Carlovingians 
who bore the title of King of France, already become to them an empty 
honour. 

Hugh Capet. — In 956, Hugh, surnamed Capet, from the kind of hat 
which he wore, succeeded his father as Count of Paris, and in the power 
which his vast domains in Picardy and Champagne conferred upon him. 
While Louis V. was slowly expiring of a fatal disease, at the early age 
of twenty, Hugh assembled his forces, and, seizing on the throne as 
soon as it became vacant, was crowned at Rheims in 987. His first act 
was to secure the succession in his family, by the coronation of his son 
Robert at Orleans ; by uniting to the royal domains the duchies and 
earldoms which he had hitherto possessed as a vassal ; and by declaring 
those to be hereditary which were in the hands of other feudatories. 

Charles of Lorraine, as son of Louis IV., did not patiently submit to 
the usurpation of his rights; but his efforts were unavailing, and a brief 
struggle was terminated by his confinement in the castle of Orleans, 
where he died in 994. Those of the great vassals who had declared for 
the pretender now did homage to Hugh Capet, whose authority, how- 
ever, was still obstinately resisted by many nobles south of the Loire. 
He died at Paris in 996. 

Robert, surnamed the Wise, ascended his fathers throne without 
opposition, but experienced a less tranquil reign. He had married, in 
opposition to the canons of the church, Bertha of Burgundy, widow of 
the Count of Blois, and his cousin in the fourth degree, for one of whose 
children he had also stood godfather. Pope Gregory V., a relation of 
the Emperor Otho III., excommunicated Robert, and laid the kingdom 
under an interdict. The French king obeyed the papal mandates with 
deep regret, but shortly after espoused Constance of Toulouse, a 
frivolous and wicked princess, who corrupted the court, domineered over 
her good-natured husband, and lighted the first fires against heretics. 

Feudal System. — Gaul, after its invasion by the transrhenane tribes, re- 
lapsed into barbarism, and the inhabitants were long without holding any social 
relation one with another. About the eighth century, order began to appear 
in the formation of a number of isolated confederacies, — the commencement of 
feudality, or that system of government which divided society into two classes, 
lords and dependants The feudal system was the child of circumstances, and 
probably originated with the Lombards. Charles Martel, son of Pepin, con- 



TENTH CENTURY A. D. 229 

ferred benefices (fiefs), the holders of which were bound to fidelity and to mili- 
tary service. They were called vassals ; but they had only temporary posses- 
sion of their fiefs as leudes or antrustions of their suzerain* or lord paramount. 
Charles the Bald made these benefices hereditary, 877, when they took the 
name of fiefs (fides, fe). The feudal system now took a different form. The 
royal authority was prostrated, and the counts usurped their governments as 
sovereignties, their wives taking the appellation of countess. Feudality still 
formed a chain of obligations from the king, as lord paramount, down to the 
meanest of his subjects. The lands under this system were divided into three 
classes : — 

1. The noble lands, i. e. the fiefs, which were divisible into two species; the 
simple fiefs, and the fiefs of dignity or the title lands, such as the duchies, earl- 
doms or counties, and baronies. 

2. The rotures, or lands enfranchised from the fiefs, possessed by roturiers, 
liable to feudality and subject to their seigneurs. t 

3. The allodial lands, which every man possessed in his own right, without 
owing any rent or service to his superior. 

Each vassal held his fief on conditions of fidelity and homage to his suzerain. 
There were two classes of them : — 1. The great vassals dependent immediately 
on the crown ; — 2. The small vassals subordinate to the great for the fiefs which 
they held by homage. Each was the liegeman of his superior, i. e. bound 
(ligatus) in indissoluble allegiance by the duties of his rank. These were, — 
military service, the defence of his lord from the machinations and arms of his 
enemies, and attendance in the courts of justice. He was also to pay his lord's 
ransom if he were captured, and, in some cases, to be detained as hostage. 
The vassals were summoned to the field by the bann and arriere bann ; the 
one was composed of gentlemen who mounted at the sound of the king's trum- 
pet ; the latter were the tenants, or coutumiers (serfs) of the bann. But after 
the establishment of corporations by Louis the Fat, in 1108, the condition of the 
commons was greatly meliorated. Philip Augustus, the tribune of the nobles, 
1180, kept the vassals in due restraint by his large armies; and Louis IX., 1226, 
destroyed the judicial powers of the seigneurs by establishing regular tribunals 
of justice. Philip the Fair deprived the barons of their power of coining money ; 
and thus they lost between 1108 and 1300 the four supports of feudality. Louis 
Hutin emancipated all the serfs on the royal domains, by a general edict in 
1315 ; but the fiefs existed till the revolution of 1789; nor was praedial servitude 
actually abolished until that period, the peasants being attached to the soil and 
forbidden to leave it without their lords' consent. 

GERMANY. 

House of Saxony. — The connexion between France and Germany 
was broken by the death of Charles the Fat in 888. Arnulph was the 
first elected king- of the latter country ; and on the death of Louis IV. in 
911, Conrad, duke of Franconia, was chosen by the general assembly 
of the eight nations composing the Germanic confederation. His brief 
reign of eight years was exposed to external enemies, in fighting against 
whom he received a mortal wound, and, having no male heirs, the crown 
was bestowed on Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony, in whose 
family it remained till 1024. This able prince began by reducing to 
subjection his powerful and turbulent vassals. He united Lorraine to 
the empire ; protected the country against the inroads of the Hungarians ; 
and besides fortifying many of his principal towns, added the march of 
Misnia to his original territory. To him Germany is farther indebted 

* The leudes and antrustions were men of rank, nobles attendant upon the court. 

| Roiure has been compared with our soccage freehold. "We have no word," says 
Hallam, ll that conveys the full sense of the word roturier. How glorious is this defi- 
ciency in our political language, and how different are the ideas suggested by commoner!" 
20 



230 MIDDLE AGES. 

for the establishment of its first municipal towns, which, together with 
the monasteries, was one of the chief means of civilizing the people. 

Otho I., 936, justly named the Great, completed what his father had 
begun. He reconquered Italy, and gave a final blow to the Hungarian 
power by the victory of Merseburg. In 962, he was crowned at Milan, 
with the iron crown of Lombardy, and at Rome by Pope John XII., 
with the golden crown of the empire. The discovery of the gold and 
silver mines of Goslar, and the settlement of the Saxon frontier, rendered 
that part of his territories the richest and most important under his rule. 
Otho had the skill to unite all the great governments in his family; but 
the necessity of resigning his duchy of Saxony, prevented the formation 
of solid monarchical power in Germany. Nevertheless, repaying the 
mistrust of his vassals by similar suspicion, he placed them under the 
inspection of the palatine counts, and also subjected the temporal 
power of the bishops to the control of certain imperial officers. By 
these means he checked the progress of feudalism, which, however, 
proceeded uninterruptedly after his death. 

Otho II. the Bloody,* 973, was allied by marriage to the Byzantine 
court. His wars in France, and in Lower Italy against the Saracens, 
were not generally successful. 

Otho III., 983, was scarcely six years of age when he ascended the 
throne of his father, under the guardianship of his mother Theophania, 
by whom his education had been intrusted to the learned Gerbert, 
afterwards Pope Sylvester II. The early portion of this reign was 
harassed by the continual wars of the great vassals against each other, 
and by the incursions of the Danes and Sclavonians. Like his predeces- 
sor, he took much interest in all that passed on the south side of the 
Alps ; and to establish his authority in the Italian peninsula and at 
Rome, was almost the sole occupation of his reign after he was left to 
his own guidance. He died childless, and was succeeded by Henry 
duke of Bavaria, the last of the Saxon house, in 1002. 

SAXON LINE. 

The succession of German kings is reckoned from Louis the German. 

Otho, ****** 

d. of Saxony, presumed descended from Witikind 7. Conrad I. of Franconia 

m. Hedwige, d. of Emperor Arnulph. emp. 9] I, f 919. 



8. Henry I. the Fowler, king of Germany, 919, t 



9. Otho the Great, Tancmar. Bruno, archbp. 

k. of Germany, 936; of Cologne, and 

emp. 9G2 ; m. 1. Editha, archduke of 

sister of Athelstan. Lorraine. 
2. Adelaide, q. of Italy. 

10. Otho II. emp. Ludolph, d. Three William, nat. Henry, 

973, m. Theophania of Franconia. daughters. son of archbp. 

of Constantinople. f °57. ofMentz. 




11. Otho III. emp. 983, 1 1002. Four daughters. 12. Henry II. emp. 

1002, f 1024. 
Note. — A collateral branch cnn- 
tinued in Saxony until 1111. 

* He derives this epithet from the perfidious massacre of the Roman senators whom he 
had invited to share his hospitality. 



TENTH CENTURY A. D. 231 

BRITAIN. 

The successors of Alfred persevered in that monarch's career of con- 
quest. Edward, surnamed the Elder, 901, deprived the Danes of the 
eastern coast from the mouth of the Thames to the Wash. This king 
must be ranked among - the founders of the English monarchy, as besides 
securing his people from a Danish domination, he prepared the way for 
the overthrow of that power in England. Like his father, he paid great 
attention to education, and his sons received the best instruction that 
the age could afford, in order to qualify them for the station to which 
they were born. 

Athelstan, a. d. 925, the grandson of Alfred, was the first monarch 
really entitled to the name of King of England. As he had attained 
the age of thirty before he was called to the exercise of royal power, he 
commenced his reign with the advantage of a matured judgment and 
extensive experience. Passing the Humber, he took the city of York, 
and routed at Brunanburgh in North umbria a numerous army, in which 
were assembled the principal enemies of the Anglo-Saxon race. He 
was a prince of very great influence at home and abroad ; and his reign, 
from his connexion with the Continent, is of more importance than those 
of any of his family. He ravaged Scotland with his troops, while his 
fleet spread dismay to the extremity of Caithness. The cause of this 
invasion was the refusal of Constantine, the Scottish King, to perform 
the conditions of an international treaty. England began now to lose 
its insular seclusion, and to take part in the transactions of foreign 
states. The sovereign of Brittany, when driven out by the Normans, 
had been hospitably received at Athelstan's court, and there, too, tbe 
queen of Charles the Simple, with her son Louis, found a refuge.* 
Hugh the Great, count of Paris, married Ethilda, one of Athelstan's 
sisters, and when Louis Outremer ascended the throne of France, a 
friendly treaty was made between the two countries, and the English 
monarch aided his ally with his fleet in 939. Two other sisters of 
Athelstan were married, one to Otho the Great, the other to a German 
prince in the emperor's court. Haco, the son of Harold Harfager of 
Norway, was educated here, and, by the aid of the king, was placed on 
his father's throne. Thus England began, and has ever continued, to 
be the asylum of the persecuted. Athelstan rebuilt several monastic 
edifices, and bestowed on them books, ornaments, or estates. He did 
not neglect the poor, and decreed, under a penalty, that each of his 
bailiffs should feed one pauper, and taxed his own farms to raise the 
necessary funds. A new invasion, attempted in 94 fi. was repelled by 
Edred, who succeeded his brother Edmund, and all England, from the 
Tweed to the Land's End, was united into one political body. But this 
state of things was not of long duration. The Danes soon re-nppeared 
in greater numbers, and again commenced their piracies in the reign of 
Ethelred II., an effeminate prince, who sought to free his kingdom of 



*The presents made to Athelstan afford a curious insisrht into the manners and civi- 
lisation of England and France. Hugh sent over some brilliant emeralds, many richly 
caparisoned horses, a beautifully carved and polished vase of onyx, the sword of Con- 
stantine the Great, the spear of Charlemagne, a diadem of gold and jewels, and some 
venerable relics. At another time, the Norwegian Harold presented a magnificent ship 
with a golden beak and purple sails, surrounded with shields gilt on their inner surface. 
— Turnet's Angle- Saxons. 



232 MIDDLE AGES. 

its invaders by large bribes rather than by courage and decision. The 
miseries of the Saxons were increased by several years of scarcity, by a 
contagious disease among the cattle, and by a most fatal dysentery that 
carried off many thousands of the people. 

Dunstan. — The national tranquillity was interrupted during the 
middle of this century by the ambition of the monks, who, meddling 
with public affairs, were on the point of abolishing the secular clergy. 
Edwy, who succeeded his uncle Edred, 955, had married Elgiva, a 
princess within the degrees forbidden by the ecclesiastical laws. Dun- 
stan, abbot of Glastonbury, in concert with several of the nobles, offered 
the most unwarrantable insult to the king on the very day of his corona- 
tion; but although the churchman was compelled to flee in order to 
avoid his sovereign's indignation, his party was too powerful to be 
resisted, and the queen was dragged from the palace by an armed troop, 
branded in the face with a red-hot iron, and banished to Ireland. Return- 
ing some time after, when her wounds were healed, Elgiva was dis- 
covered and cruelly murdered. 

SPAIN. 

Moorish Spain The effeminacy of the Arabian monarchs of Cor- 
dova cost them part of their empire. Some successful rebels made 
themselves independent in the states of Toledo, Huesca, and Saragossa, 
and by their mutual contests endangered the Moorish dominion. Ab- 
dalrahman III., 912, reduced all these turbulent governors to submis- 
sion, and under his wise rule agriculture, manufactures, and commerce 
flourished. He extended his dominions by conquests in Africa, but 
these advantages were counteracted by the terrible defeat at Simancas, 
in 938, when 80,000 Mussulmans were left dead on the field, — a proof 
of the fury of the battle and the valour of their antagonists. These 
losses were, however, after a time skilfully repaired, and more than 
twenty times Abdalrahman advanced into the very heart of the Christian 
states. By this emir the first medical school was established in Europe, 
and its celebrity is attested by the cure of the king, Don Sancho, who 
had obtained permission to be attended by Arabian physicians. The 
glorious reign of this caliph, which terminated in 961, was closely 
followed by the decay of the Mohammedan power; yet it was maintained 
during half of the tenth century by the great vizier Almansor, who made 
fifty-four successful campaigns against the Christians, penetrating even 
to the sanctuary of Compostella. He was succeeded by his son, who 
worthily trod in his father's footsteps. 

Christian Spain. — Meanwhile the Christians, pent up in the Bis- 
cayan mountains, were preparing to contend with their conquerors. 
Ramires II. took Madrid in 932, threatened Toledo, and after the glori 
ous victory at Simancas, extended his dominions to the range of hills 
which separates New from Old Castile. In the year 960, about a cen- 
tury after the foundation of Burgos, may be placed the formation of the 
kingdom of Castile under Ferdinand Gonzales, who severed it from 
Leon. But between 982 and 990, the Christian sovereignties were 
menaced with the greatest peril. The vizier of Cordova drove Bermudes 
II. to seek refuge in the wilds of Asturias, and was only compelled to 
retire by the breaking out of a terrible pestilence among his troops, in 



TENTH CENTURY A. D. 233 

997. The presence of the enemy at last reunited the discordant princes 
of Northern Spain; and the Count of Castile, being placed at the head 
of the troops of Leon, Navarre, and Castile, destroyed the army of Al- 
mansor, which had been hitherto victorious. 

ARABIAN EMPIRE. 

Emir al Omra. — The decline of the Arabian dominion was rapid and 
certain ; for the Turkish guard held the caliph almost a prisoner in his 
own palace, while the governors of the provinces threw off their alle- 
giance, contenting themselves with merely acknowledging, in their 
daily prayers, the existence of their supreme lord, and by the payment 
of certain unimportant tributes. Al Radhi, 934, the twentieth of the 
Abbassides, was the last of his order that enjoyed the power and privi- 
leges as well as the splendour of royalty. Even in his reign, Mohammed, 
a Turk, was appointed to the new office of emir al omra — commander of 
commanders — which conferred on the possessors unlimited authority 
in the state, not unlike that of the mayors of the palace in France 
Violent and ambitious men were always ready to seize upon this office, 
which, in 944, became hereditary in the family of the Persian governor, 
and henceforth the caliphs were mere ecclesiastical regents. In this 
decline of their power they were also condemned to witness the loss of 
part of their dominions. Between 963 and 975, the Byzantine armies 
had recovered Syria, crossed the Euphrates, and also subjected all the 
Ottoman dominions in Europe. 

Fatimites. — Africa was entirely lost to the Abbassides, who had the 
mortification of beholding a new caliph establish a rival throne. In 908, 
Obeidallah, one of the Karmathians, all of whom were supposed to have 
been exterminated, was proclaimed ruler, as a descendant of Ismael, son 
of Djafar Sadik, the seventh visible Imam. He was soon sufficiently 
powerful to overthrow the Aglabite dynasty of Kairwan and the Edris- 
ites of Fez. Mahadia, in Africa, which he founded, became the residence 
of the Fatimites, a name preferred by the new monarchs to that of AH, 
as marking with greater clearness their descent from the prophet's 
daughter, Fatima. Sicily and the Arab dominions in Italy soon fell into 
the power of Obeidallah ; and his fourth successor, Al Moez, completed 
in 960 the conquest of Sardinia and Egypt, in the latter of which he 
built Cairo, the metropolis of the African caliphate. 

By the reduction of Egypt the Fatimites soon lost their other posses- 
sions in Africa, in which independent principalities arose so soon as the 
seat of government was transferred to the banks of the Nile. The 
history of this dynasty presents the same vicissitudes as all others of 
Arabian origin ; the sovereigns, who for the most part lived retired in 
their palaces, were elevated or dethroned according to the interests of 
ministers, or the caprice of the officers of the body-guard. 

The Ghaznevides. — While the caliphate of Bagdad was thus falling 
into ruin,, a vast monarchy was rising in the East. The Suffarides, 
established in Khorassan, had been dethroned, after a reign of thirty 
years' duration, by the Samanides, a Turkish family, who maintained 
their power till the end of the century. But in 961, a slave named Alp 
Tegin, seized on the castle of Ghasna, and founded the dynasty of the 
Ghaznevides. Mahmoud, 997, who united the reputation of a sage with 
20* 



234 MIDDLE AGES. 

the glory of a conqueror, reduced Lahore, Moultan, and Guzerat, extend- 
ing his conquests, and with them the Mussulman faith, far into the 
Indian peninsula. From these victories arose the Hindosianee, the 
modern language of India, which has taken the place of the Sanscrit, 
now hecome the exclusive idiom of the learned in that country. 

The Turks. — The Turks were a people of Tartar origin, condemned 
by their first conquerors, the Gevugen, to work in the mines of the 
Imaus, and to forge arms for their masters. But these victims soon 
quitted their mountains, overthrew their oppressors in 552, and founded 
a state which continued until 585. At this epoch they separated : those 
of the East were reduced by the Chinese in 744 ; those of the West 
exhausted their resources by intestine divisions, and by degrees ceased 
to exist as a formidable nation. In the ninth century, numerous bands 
of the Western Turks entered into the service of the caliphs, and net 
long after into that of the Ghanzevide sultans. The chief of the tribe 
Seljuk, who inhabited Bokhara, was able alone to arm 200,000 men. 
Mahmoud it is true distributed them among his cities on the banks of 
the Oxus; but when he died in 1028, they returned to their former pas- 
toral life, supporting themselves chiefly by plunder. 

THE CHURCH. 

The tenth century is generally characterized as one of the darkest of 
the dark ages ; and in the history of the church there is little to relieve 
the gloom that overhangs the secular annals of this period. 

The Christian religion had been propagated successfully in the East, 
beyond the Imaus, and among the barbarians in the north and east of 
Europe. About the year 720, the Nestorian patriarch appointed metro- 
politans in China and at Samarcand, while in India and Ceylon the 
gospel appears to have been received much earlier. The Normans were 
converted about 910, the Poles in 964, and the Russians and Hungarians 
at the end of the century. In Europe the purity of the doctrines of the 
church was obscured by the vicious lives of many of the clergy, and the 
strange opinions every day introduced. The pontiffs are described as 
monsters rather than men, and the see of Rome has been represented by 
its own historians as the spoil of profligate women who disposed of it 
at their pleasure. At the end of the century, the papal chair was ably 
filled by the learned Gerbert, Sylvester II. Notwithstanding the rapid 
succession of twenty-five popes, between 905 and 1003, the influence 
of the church gradually increased, partly by open violence, partly by 
fraudulent usurpation; and it was now for the first time maintained that 
" the authority of the bishops, though divine in its origin, was conveyed 
to them by St. Peter, the prince of the apostles." 

The invasions of the Normans were always disastrous to ecclesiastical 
edifices, which they pillaged and destroyed without mercy. Profound 
ignorance necessarily followed such havoc, since the cloisters were the 
sole asylum of learning; and the priests and monks, being suddenly 
deprived of their means of subsistence, were obliged to seek relief in 
occupations foreign to their profession. Hence arose negligence of their 
duties, which became the more palpable as the means of instruction and 
disciplined were withdrawn. Berno, at Cluny, in 910, commenced the 
reform of the monasteries in France, by introducing the Benedictines, 



TENTH CENTURY A. D. 2^5 

the severity of whose regulations was increased by Odo in the convent 
of Fleury, whither the body of the founder had been transported from 
Mount Cassino. This discipline rapidly became popular, and was 
adopted generally within a very short period. 

During this century, a groundless panic, arising from a false interpre- 
tation of the twentieth chapter of the Revelation of St. John, seized all 
Europe. Temples and palaces were suffered to fall into decay, and 
language vainly attempts to describe the confusion and despair that tor- 
mented the minds of the ignorant multitude. The sacerdotal order did 
not scruple to profit by this delusion. Many charters begin with these 
words : '« As the world is now drawing to its end ;" and an army march- 
ing under Otho I. was so terrified by an eclipse of the sun, which was 
conceived to announce this consummation, as to disperse hastily on all 
sides. 

Penance. — St. Augustin gave some countenance to the Manichean ideas of 
Two Principles, Good and Evil, existing in each individual, and constantly at 
war as in the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. This doctrine exhibited 
at once the weakness and strength of human nature : at one time degrading it 
below the beasts, at another elevating it almost above humanity. Enthusiasts, 
in order to attain heaven, spent their lives in inflicting the greatest torture on 
themselves. They disfigured the body by neglect and filth, weakened it by 
fasting and watching, and tore it with stripes. Linen was proscribed among the 
monastic orders, and the use of the warm bath ceased, because cleanliness 
itself was a luxury, and therefore a positive sin. They bound chains round the 
body, which wore into the flesh ; Arnulph of Villars in Brabant had an under- 
waistcoat of hedgehog skins ; St. Dominic the Cuirassier was clothed in an iron 
dress, and scourged himself with both hands night and day ; and the English 
saint, Simon Stock, obtained his name from passing many years in a hollow 
tree. 

THE WORLD AT THE END OF THE TENTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire. — At the end of the eighth century the known world was 
under the control of three great monarchies, — the East, the West, and the 
Caliphate. Of these, one only now remained ; and the Eastern Empire, lying 
between the Saracens and Franks, was obliged to have recourse to the assist- 
ance of the latter, and was often tributary to the former. It still however 
maintained considerable power, though but a shadow of what it had been, and 
was a continual prey to civil dissensions and external war. 

The Caliphate was parcelled out into a number of petty states, leaving 
scarcely a trace of its existence except in the pomp which still surrounded the 
rulers as ministers of religion. 

The Frank Kingdom, at one period the terror of the West, existed in 
several different sovereignties founded upon its ruins, of Avhich the chief were 
the kingdoms of France and Germany. These two states at first sight present 
an equality of force which disappears on a closer examination. 

France was exhausted by anarchy and tyranny ; each province had its inde- 
pendent sovereign, duke or count, one of whom (Hugh Capet) violently seized 
the crown. Thus we see a king of Burgundy, a duke of Paris or of France, 
dukes of Aquitaine, Normandy, and Brittany ; counts of Champagne, Flanders, 
Toulouse, and Anjou, — all of whom reigned as independent princes in their 
own territories. Under this crowd of masters, mutually jealous of each other 
and continually at war, the people were always suffering and enslaved. They 
recognised a sort of hereditary chief, upon whom they conferred the title of 
king; but this ruler, without authority, money, or arms, was always at the 
mercy of his powerful vassals. 

Germany was as extensive as France, and its nobles were scarcely less 
numerous. The sovereignty was elective, but the electors, while they reserved 



236 MIDDLE AGES. 

the honour of choosing the common master, had the good sense to surrender 
part of their privileges to give him more authority. Hence the king had fiefs at 
his disposal, officers at his command, and armies to execute his orders. 

Spain was but little changed. The North, occupied by the Christians, was 
perpetually at war with the Moors of the South. In both the states were 
numerous and feeble ; but the former always gained ground, while the Sara- 
cens, equally brave and enlightened, were weakened by civil dissensions. 

England was entirely changed. The seven, or rather eight little kingdoms 
were now united into a single monarchy ; but its powers were still enfeebled 
by the divisions of the Danish and Saxon inhabitants, who made the island a 
theatre of revolution and bloodshed. 

Italy, winch presented the spectacle of cities overthrown, was oppressed by 
tyrants, and ruined by anarchy. Venice alone, separated from all others by its 
peculiar situation and policy, enjoyed a period of calmness and prosperity. 

Rome contained a rising and ambitious power, which threatened to overthrow 
the ascendency of the Germans. The papal territories were of small size, but 
no prince had a more extensive power than the pope : by his dominion over 
men's consciences he completed the great work of a spiritual monarchy. 

Prepare : A map of the world, and fill up two lateral columns with the ne- 
cessary explanations of the changes that have taken place. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire. — 1028, Romanus III. — Bulgarian Invasion. — 1057, Comneni 
— 1081, Anna Comnena — Varangian Guards. 

Italy. — 1046, Norman Kingdom. — 1057, Robert Guiscard — Italian Republics. 

Germany. — 1024, Conrad II.— Franconian House. — 1073, Investitures — Saxon 
Wars. 

France.— 1031, Henry I.— 1060, Philip I.—1095, Synod of Clermont. 

Spain. — 1080, New Castile recovered. — 1081, Kingdom of Portugal. — The Cid. 

Arabian Empire. — 1038, Togrul-Beg — Seljukians. — 1050, Invasion of Arme- 
nia. — 1063, Alp Arslan. — 1074, Malek-Shah — Gelalaean Era. — 1076, Jerusa- 
lem taken by the Turks. 

Britain. — 1002, Massacre of the Danes.— 1017, Danish Dynasty. — 1041, Ed- 
ward the Confessor. — 1066, Norman Conquest. — 1080, Domesday Book. — 
1087, William Rufus. 

Church.— 1027, Truce of God.— 1038, Benedict IX. deposed.— 1073, Gregory 
VII. — Investitures — Cistertians and Carthusians — The Holy Lance. — 1096, 
First Crusade. 

Celebrated Men. — Ferdousi, d. 1020; Avicenna ; Guido of Arezzo. 
i 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Zoe. — By the death of Basil, in 1025, Constantine VIII. remained 
sole master of the empire ; but he occupied himself little with the 
government, which his daughters Zoe and Theodora managed, and con- 
tinued to direct, even under his two successors. Romenus III., who 
had been compelled to repudiate his wife and marry Zoe, Constantine's 
eldest daughter, succeeded to the throne in 1028. He met with several 
disastrous reverses in his campaigns against the Saracens; and by his 
injudicious attempt to replenish his exchequer, caused successive com- 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 237 

motions, which were aggravated by a dreadful plague, followed by 
famine and an earthquake. He died of poison administered by his wife, 
who with criminal haste married Michael IV., 1034. This prince, after 
defeating the Bulgarians, who had crossed the frontiers of the empire, 
and rolling back the tide of war into their own forests, divested himself 
of the purple, and finished his days in a monastery, 1041. 

Michael V., who had been nominated Caesar during his uncle's reign, 
caused the empress to be imprisoned ; but the people deploring her 
exile, a formidable tumult of three days terminated in her recall and in 
the deposition of the sovereign, after a reign of scarcely four months, in 
10452. The third husband of Zoe, Constantine IX., was now declared 
emperor, the beginning of whose reign was disquieted by the revolt of 
ten of his best generals. They were scarcely defeated before Togrul 
Beg conquered Erzeroum, and 800,000 Bulgarians crossed the Danube 
on the ice; but, fortunately for the empire, they perished from the com- 
bined effects of war and disease. After the monarch's death in 1054, 
Theodora reigned two years, and chose Michael VI. for her successor; 
but he was dethroned by a conspiracy formed among his most distin- 
guished commanders. 

The Comneni, 1057, were a noble family from the shores of the 
Euxine, but of Italian origin. Manuel, the first of their line, distin- 
guished himself in the East ; w T hile Isaac and John, for their great 
merits, had been promoted to the highest posts in the army. The sol- 
diery had long viewed with disgust the succession of vicious and feeble 
emperors who had worn the purple, and on the plains of Phrygia 
unanimously raised Isaac to the imperial dignity in 1057. After two 
j years, his delicate health determined him to abdicate, and having vainly 
j offered the throne to his brother John, he was succeeded by Constan- 
tine X., Ducas, 1059. Selfish and short-sighted in his policy, this 
i monarch endeavoured to aggrandize his family, while he left the fron- 
I tiers unguarded against the inroads of the Turks, who invaded and 
) occupied Iberia and Mesopotamia, as Thrace, Macedon, and Greece 
were by the Utzes. He was followed by his three sons, governing 
under the regency of their mother Eudocia, who married, in 1068, Ro- 
manus IV., Diogenes, by whom Alp Arslan was defeated while his 
hordes were ravaging Cilicia and Cappadocia. Romanus was taken 
prisoner in a second campaign, but restored to liberty on promise of a 
I heavy ransom. In the interval, Michael VII., Parapinaces, was raised 
I to the throne, by whom his predecessor was deprived of his eyes, pre- 
| viously to his being exiled. In 1074, Soliman conquered Romania 
I (Roum), and chose Nice for his residence. The Greeks now possessed 
| little more of Asia Minor than the seacoast and a few strong towns, 
I while their feebleness was increased by losing those territories in Italy 
which were seized by the Normans. Wearied of a prince who had 
I abandoned the cares of government to an infamous and incapable 
| minister, the troops proclaimed as emperor their general Nicephorus 
I III., and Michael, divested of his power, received the title of Archbishop 
iof Ephesus. But Alexius I., Comnenus, in 1081, seized on Constan- 
tinople, and obliged Nicephorus to retire into a monastery. For the 
■ history of the life of this emperor, we are indebted to the fluent pen of 
Phis affectionate daughter Anna. In the disorder of the times, compre- 
[ihending every calamity which can afflict a declining empire, Alexius 



23c JllDDLE AGES. 

steered the imperial vessel with courage and dexterity. His warlike 
demonstration alone sufficed to check the incursions of the Turks; but 
his Norman opponents under Robert Guiscard were more serious anta- 
gonists,* and he was only freed from them by the dissolution of the 
army on the death of their commander, 1085. Towards the end of the 
century, the Turks again threatened Constantinople ; and the supplicatory 
letters of Alexius to the several princes of Europe were the immediate 
cause of the crusades. We shall trace their history elsewhere, but it 
may here be remarked, that the crafty emperor trod in the footsteps of 
the. victorious Franks, and secured to himself those fruits for which they 
were too impatient to wait. He died in 1118. 

ITALY. 

Normans. — Some of the armed pilgrims of Normandy, while visiting 
the Italian shrines, were employed by a Lombard prince of Salerno 
against the Saracens, a. d. 1016. Their success led to fresh engage- 
ments, and attracted many of the restless spirits of the age to their vic- 
torious standard. By them a great part of Southern Italy and Sicily 
was torn from the grasp of the infidels ; and to indemnify themselves 
for an unjust division of the spoil, they seized upon Apulia, under the 
first count, William of the Iron Arm, one of the sons of Tancred de 
Hauteville, 1046. Leo IX., who did not regard these formidable and 
unscrupulous neighbours without anxiety, endeavoured by fraud and 
force to drive them from the peninsula. He did not, however, succeed, 
but fell into their hands, and the condition of his release was a present 
of Apulia and Calabria, as a fief of the holy see, 1053. Robert Guis- 
card, another of the twelve sons of Tancred, was the most remarkable 
of the dukes of Apulia. His ambition led him to aim at the conquest 
of the Greek empire; and, in 1081, he besieged Dyrrachium (Durazzo) 
with a resolute army of somewhat less than 30,000 men. The Emperor 
Alexius marched against him in person, and suffered a disgraceful defeat. 
The dissensions of Italy recalled Robert; and while preparing a second 
armament, he engaged in three naval battles with various success against 
the combined fleet of Venice and Constantinople. An epidemic disease, 
which attacked him at Corfu, proved fatal next year, and carried him oPf 
in the seventieth year of his age, 1085 ; but the conquest of Sicily was 
completed by his brother Roger. The latter island, then a prey to civil 
discord, was occupied by a number of emirs, who no longer recognised 
the authority of their sovereigns in Africa, and had divided the country 
into petty principalities. The chivalrous Norman crossed to Messina, 
and at the head of only sixty men attacked the Saracens. The spoils 
he acquired soon attracted others to his standard, and after thirty years 
he became master of the island, 1090, with the title of grand count. 
His exploits during the earlier campaigns in Sicily are quite romantic. 
To strengthen his power, Roger behaved with mildness and toleration 
towards the vanquished, and the Mussulmans had no reason to complain 
of a change of masters. Not less skilful as a politician than valiant as 

* In the Greek armies were many English nobles, who, to avoid the oppression of the 
Norman William, and despairing of the fortunes of their country, had sought refuse at 
the court of Constantinople. These, under the name of Varangians, proved true and' 
faithful supporters of the Byzantine empire till its fall. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 239 

a warrior, he had the address to turn to his own advantage all the pre- 
tensions of the pope ; and, in order to preserve the right of conferring 
ecclesiastical benefices, he declared the .Sicilian princes to be perpetual 
and hereditary legates of the holy see. 

Italian Republics. — The origin of these republican states cannot 
now be precisely ascertained, but we may place them after a. d. 990. 
Of their history during this century little is known, except that they 
restored the Roman municipal government, which had never entirely 
ceased, and were engaged in continual hostilities. The rural nobility 
were soon brought into subjection, and their fortresses dismantled ; the 
towns were wisely thrown open to all who chose to settle in them ; and 
the military habits of the populace protected them against the violence 
of their enemies. But, from a desire of tyrannizing over their neigh- 
bours, they imitated the example of the ancient Greek republics, " with 
all its circumstances of inveterate hatred, unjust ambition, and atrocious 
retaliation, though with less consummate actors on the scene." 

Venice had subdued the Istrian pirates, a. d. 939 ; and conquered 
Dalmatia, in 1000, before any rivals to her commercial power had arisen 
in the cities of Genoa and Pisa, or any other marts were formed for the 
merchandise of the East and West. The democracy naturally lost its 
predominance in the augmented riches of the state ; but lest the supreme 
power of the doge should be abused, he was reduced to a mere cipher 
by the annual election of councillors to superintend his conduct, 1002. 
In the contests against Robert the Norman, the Venetians took part 
with the Greeks, but were defeated, 1081. The crusades which occur- 
red shortly after paved the way to their subsequent riches, insolence, 
and power. 

Genoa and Pisa. — These two republics derive their origin from the 
anarchy that followed the deposition of Charles the Fat, in 888. To 
this year the Genoese assign the election of their first consuls, the crea- 
tion of their senate, and the assemblies of the people, with all the 
ancient municipal forms recognised by Berenger II., in his charter of 
958. Pisa adopted nearly the same institutions in the tenth century; 
and, like the other, directed all its energies to maritime commerce. The 
Saracens were the first enemies which these two cities had to contend 
with; Genoa was pillaged in 936, and Pisa in 1005. 

GERMANY. 

Henry II. did not receive the crown of Germany in 1002, without 
opposition ; but eventually his claims and authority were recognised in 
the whole of the duchies and by all the electors. The peace of the 
kingdom was, however, soon disturbed by the war in Franconia and on 
the eastern march. Italy was for a time estranged from Germany by 
the enemies of the Marquis of Ivrea ; and the towns of Lombardy, 
divided between the partisans of Ardouin and Henry, were a prey to 
civil strife. In 1012, Henry's intervention was formally demanded ; for 
the Romans, being formed into two parties in the election of a pontiff, 
each faction nominated its own candidate ; one of whom, Benedict VIII., 
having been driven out of the city, came to Paderborn in great state, 
and entreated the assistance of the German monarch to establish him 
in his dignity. The urgent solicitations of the pope were seconded by 



240 MIDDLE AGES. 

the complaints preferred by the Archbishop of Milan against Ardouin. 
In the campaign of 1014, Henry advanced to Rome, where he was 
crowned emperor. Returning across the Alps, and visiting Burgundy 
and Lorraine, he stopped atlhe monastery of Saint Vannes, near Ver- 
dun, where he was prevented from embracing a cloistered life only by 
the good sense and firmness of the superior. 

House of Franconia. — Conrad II., the Salic, descended from Otho 
the Great, was elected to fill the vacant throne, and with him began the 
line of Franconian emperors, a. d. 1024. To secure the crown in his 
family, he endeavoured to increase its influence by conferring various 
duchies and principalities on his relatives. His son, Henry III., who 
succeeded him in 1039, was perhaps the most powerful and absolute of 
the German rulers. Having defeated the Hungarians, he obtained the 
cession of all the country between Kahlenberg and the Leitha; and 
when he had confirmed his power at home, he turned his attention to 
Italy, where three popes were urging their claims to the triple crown. 
None of them met with the approbation of the German king, and the 
Bishop of Bamberg was elected, with the title of Clement II. He also 
nominated the three successors, who honoured the tiara by their virtues, 
and commenced the reform of the clergy. Uniting the fief of Franconia 
to the imperial domain, he bestowed the forfeited duchy on his wife, 
Agnes, — entirely laying aside the usual forms of popular concurrence 
which were deemed necessary to various acts of sovereignty. 

Henry IV. was only six years old when his father died in 1056. The 
care of his minority was assigned to his mother, from whom it was 
wrested by the Archbishop of Cologne. Under his new guardian he 
was allowed to indulge in all kinds of excess, and the Saxons, among 
whom he resided, soon grew weary of the expenses of the licentious 
court, and its attacks on their liberties.* To keep this warlike people 
within their bounds, he constructed a great number of castles in Saxony 
and Thuringia, compelling" the inhabitants to raise with their own hands 
those fortresses whose garrisons were to be maintained at their expense. 
His proceedings at last excited a general revolt among them, which he 
soon quelled, but at a great cost of human life, 1075. 

Investiture. — Henry's adversary was the celebrated Gregory VII., 
who desired to free the church from the temporal authority of laymen; 
that is, to deprive all princes of the power of investing bishops with the 
ring and crosier, the symbols by which the pope himself conferred the 
spiritual authority. Gregory's first attack was violent. In a council 
held in the Lateran Palace, it was declared that no laics should confei 
ecclesiastical benefices, or clerks should receive them from a layman, 
under pain of excommunication. This decree w r as carried to Henry by 
four legates, charged with the removal of this annoyance throughout the 
German church. The king, then occupied with the Saxon war, at first 
promised them his aid ; but when the insurgents submitted, he forgot 
his pledge, of which the pope reminded him in a threatening manner. 
The irritated monarch assembled at Worms the great nobles and prelates 
of his kingdom, who pronounced Gregory's deposition, 1076. The reply 

* On the occasion of a quarrel between Henry, and Otho, duke of Bavaria, the latter 
was deposed, and the duchy conferred on Otho's son-in-law, Welf or Guelph, from whom 
descended the Brunswick line, now occupying the British throne. 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 241 

of the Papal See was the excommunication of the king, accorr^ anicd by 
an act depriving him of his regal dignity, and absolving his subjects 
from their oaths of allegiance. 

The German aristocracy, oppressed by Henry III., and the Saxons, 
vanquished by his son, ran to arms, as much to avenge their private 
injuries, as to enforce the papal encroachments. The rebel chiefs, at 
whose head were Rodolph of Swabia, and Guelph of Bavaria, met at 
Tribur, suspended the emperor from his functions, and threatened to de- 
pose him, if he did not procure the retractation of the Romish anathemas. 
Henry yielded to the storm, and visited Italy, where he became reconciled 
to the pope, on certain humiliating tonditions, 1077. But he had sub- 
mitted only to gain time, and being encouraged by the fidelity of his 
Lombard vassals, he broke the treaty to which he had given his assent, 
and marched against the rebellious Germans, who had already elected 
Rodolph of Swabia to the throne. The decisive victory of Wolksheim 
in Thuringia, 1080, was fatal to Rodolph, who perished by the lance of 
Godfrey of Bouillon, afterwards so distinguished in the First Crusade. 
In Italy, also, Henry was triumphant ; and at the same time, the death 
of Pope Gregory in exile, 1085, relieved him from much disquietude. 
But he did not long enjoy the fruits of his victory, and his latter days 
were clouded with increasing misfortunes. First, he had to contend 
against a new competitor; afterwards against his own son Conrad; 
while the confessions of his wife Bertha added to his domestic afflictions. 
But he continued, in despite of all these miseries, to struggle with firm- 
ness, and by his courage effaced at least his earlier faults. When 
Conrad died, his brother Henry appeared in arms against their father, 
who was forced to flee before his rebellious child. So great was his 
distress, that he begged the humble post of reader in a church which he 
himself had founded, and was refused. Laying himself down on the 
steps, he died of hunger in 1106, and his body was left without sepul- 
ture, as being that of an excommunicated person.* 

FRANCONIAN DYNASTY. 

13. Conrad II., the Salic, duke of Franconia, elected emp. 1024, m. Gisela, 
granddaughter of Conrad d. of Bourges, herself of Swabian origin. 



14. Henry III., the Black, emp, 1039, Two daughters. 

m. 1. Ounegunda, d. of Canute the Great ; 
2. Agnes of Poitou, afterwards regent. 



15. Henry TV. emp. 1056, Matilda m. Rodolph, Sophia 

m. 1. Bertha of lvrea ; d. of Swabia ; elected m. 1. Solomon, k. of Hungary, 

2. Adelaide of Russia, emp. and killed in 1080. 2. Ladislaus, k. of Poland. 



Conrad rebels 16. Henry V., emp. 1106. Agnes Adelaide 

m Matilda of m. Matilda of England. m. Frederick of m. Bolcslas III. 

Sicily. Hohenstaufen. k. of Poland. 

*********** 

17. Lothaire II., son of Gerhard of Supplinbourg, 

d. of Saxony, 1106, emp. 1125, 11137 ; m. Richenza, heiress of Henry Hie Fat, 

d. of Saxony, and last descendant of Henry the Fowler. 



* Other accounts state that Henry died at Liege in extreme want. On one occasion he 
was compelled to sell his books to purchase bread ; and shortly befoie his death he I'm-- 
warded his sword to his son with the brief message : " Si mihi plus dimisses, plus tibi 
misissem." 

21 



242 MIDDLE AGES. 

FRANCE. 

In 1022, Robert shared the regal power with Hugh, his eldest son, 
who was soon driven to revolt by the harshness of his mother Constance, 
who required from him, as king, the same implicit obedience which he 
had given when a child. Robert vanquished and pardoned the rebel. On 
the demise of Hugh, soon afterwards, the king elevated his third son 
Henry in his stead. Constance, however, preferred the youngest, named 
Robert, and, by her ungracious behaviour, drove Henry, as she had be- 
fore compelled his brother, to revolt. But the youthful prince was far 
from seconding his mother's projects, and in fact united with his brother 
against her tyranny. They returned to their duty a short time before 
the death of their father, which took place at JVIelun, in the sixty-first 
year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his government, 1031. 

During this reign the Church began to take measures against the heretics, 
who appeared in great numbers ; some of whom pretended to change the doc- 
trines, others to reform the manners, but all were persecuted alike. In a 
council assembled at Orleans, a multitude of these unfortunate persons were 
condemned to the flames. King Robert and his queen were present at their 
execution ; when Constance remarking among the victims an ecclesiastic who 
had been her own confessor, thrust out one of his eyes with an iron rod. 

Robert's devotion and goodness, the chief qualities that can be praised 
in him, were not very elevated. His principal occupation was founding 
churches, chanting with the priests, and correcting the liturgies. Yet 
this piety, however erroneously directed, was accompanied by an ardent 
charity that should ever consecrate the memory of this king. The poor 
were his friends ; every day he fed three hundred, sometimes a thousand ; 
on Holy Thursday, kneeling and in sackcloth, he washed their feet, and 
served them. 

Henry I., 1031, was scarcely seated on the throne before Robert, his 
brother, was urged to assert his claims to the crown ; but the king be- 
ing triumphant, the other was contented to accept the duchy of Burgundy, 
which his descendants possessed until 1361. Another, but far less suc- 
cessful war, occupied the remainder of his reign. The Duke of Nor- 
mandy, Robert the Devil, by whose aid Henry had been maintained on 
the throne, having died in 1035, while returning from a pilgrimage to 
Jerusalem, left William the Bastard, afterwards the conqueror of Eng- 
land, to succeed him. The French king took advantage of the minority 
of the young prince to weaken his power ; but no sooner had William 
reached man's estate, than he attacked his enemy and defeated him in 
threp battles, 1051. 

Philip I. succeeded his father in 1060, and commenced the longest 
reign which occurs in the French annals. His personal acts must be 
carefully separated from those which so highly characterized the chivalry 
of France during this period. He distinguished himself in several wars, 
but in his private life indulged in vices that drew upon him the censures 
of the church and the contempt of his subjects. He trafficked in holy 
matters, selling to the highest bidder the vacant benefices and sees. 
Gregory VII. menaced him with an interdict, but the pontiff's severity 
was exhausted in his German quarrel. He was afterwards successively 
excommunicated by two popes, at the councils of Autun and Clermont, 
on account of his divorce, but was eventually restored by the council of 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 



243 



Paris, held in 1104. The latter years of Philip's reign were passed in 
all the excitement of the First Crusade. He died in 1108. 

CAPETIAN DYNASTY: Portion 1. 
Conrad Welf. 



Robert the Strong, or the Angevin, 
d. of France, 861-866. 



Hugh the Abbot, d. of France 
866-886. 



Ecdes, ct. of Paris, d. of France, 886; 
k., 888-t 898. 



Robert I., d. 889 ; k. 922, f 923 



Emma, wife of Rodolph of Burgundy 
q. of France, 923-936. No issue. 



Hugh ihe Great, d. of France, &c, 
923-956, in. Hedwige, sister of Otho 
the Great. 



Hugh Capet, d. 956 
k. 987-996. 



Otho, d. of Bourses 
956-963. * 



(Both without issue.) 



Henry, d. of Bourges, 
965-1002. 



Robert II., k. 996-1031, 
in. 1. Bertha of Burgundy. 
2. Constance of Toulouse. 



Henry I., d. of Burgundy, 1015; 
k. 1031-1060 ; m. Anne of Russia. 



Robert, d. of Burgundy, 1032, stock 
of the first hereditary dukes. 



Philip I., k. 1060-1108. 
m. I. Bertha of Holland. 
2. Bertrade of Montfort. 



Louis VI., the Fat, k. 1108. 



Hugh the Great, ct. of Vermandois 
and Valois, in right of his wife 
Adelaide 
(Branch extinct in the sixth generation.) 



SPAIN. 

The Almoravides. — Moorish Spain presented in every quarter the 
appearance of anarchy and dismemberment, at the very period when its 
existence was threatened by two formidable enemies : on the one side 
by Alphonso V., who, after uniting- Galicia to the kingdoms of Leon 
and Castile, took possession of Toledo, Madrid, and Guadalaxara; on 
the other, by African tribes bent oil a war of extermination. 

About the middle of the eleventh century, there appeared in Africa, 
beyond Mount Atlas, in the deserts of ancient Gaetulia, two tribes of 
Arab origin, known by the appellations of Gudala and Lamtuna. When 
these were converted to Islamism, they assumed the name of Murabitins 
or Almoravides — that is. men of God. Excited by the enthusiasm of 
their new faith, they crossed the mountains; when the Arabs of the 
desert, uniting with the new people, founded the city of Morocco. Yus- 
suf was its first emir, and being summoned by Mohammed, sovereign 
of Cordova, made three expeditions into Spain; and, on learning the 
feebleness of all the petty kings, resolved to subject them to his power. 
In 1094, he succeeded in putting an end to all the Mohammedan states 
in the peninsula; but soon felt himself incapable of appropriating their 
territories as he had intended. It is true, however, he gained a f ew 
advantages over the Christians, and ravaged Catalonia after a terrible 
battle, in which, it is said, 30,000 men were slain. 

Christian Spain. — With the death of Bermudes III., in 1037, the 
dynasty of the Kings of Leon expired, and this ancient sovereignty was 
united to Castile in the person of Ferdinand of Navarre, son of that 



244 MIDDLE AGES. 

Garcia III. who, notwithstanding his great valour, was surname! the 
Trembler. This family possessed the four Christian thrones of Spain, 
which were reduced to three, in 1038, by the death of Gonzales of 
Sobrarva. 

At this time the Moors still possessed Andalusia, Granada, Murcia, 
part of New Castile, and all the seacoast from Barcelona to the mouth 
of the Tagus. The war with the infidels was renewed by the new King 
of Leon and Castile, whose frontiers were even extended to the Mon- 
dego, and the Arab princes of Saragossa, Toledo, Cordova, and Seville, 
were compelled to pay him tribute. On Ferdinand's death in 1065, his 
kingdom was divided among his three sons: Sancho had Castile; Al- 
phonso, Leon and the Asturias ; Garcia, a part of Portugal with Galicia. 
Little variety characterizes the history of these states until 1081, when 
Henry of Burgundy, a soldier of fortune, received the hand of Theresa, 
Alphonso's natural daughter, and, as dowry, whatever he could wrest 
from the Moors in Portugal. Other French knights were found in the 
Spanish armies, and on one occasion an auxiliary force crossed the 
Pyrenees to aid Alphonso, with whose assistance the Moors were driven 
into Andalusia. 

The Cid. — Although Capmany, with an excess of critical scepticism, 
throws doubts upon the existence of this warrior, it is not the less 
necessary to be acquainted with his history. Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, 
surnamed Campeador (the battler), and Cid (chief), illustrated the reign 
of Ferdinand I., founder of the Castilian monarchy. He was born of 
a noble and ancient family at Burgos, and aided Don Sancho to deprive 
the brothers and sisters of the latter of the heritage which Ferdinand 
had left to them ; but Sancho having, in 1072, been killed at Zamora, 
his brothers recovered their estates. The Cid shortly after falling into 
disgrace, retired from court, not to an inactive life, for with his own fol- 
lowers alone he took Alcazar, and maintained himself on a rock near 
the Guadalaviar, which still bears the name of Penu de el Cid. One of 
his most remarkable exploits was the siege of Toledo, which lasted 
twelve months, and attracted many cavaliers from Italy and France. 
From the number of French families which settled in that town, their 
privileges derived the name of Franchise. The Cid next conquered 
Valencia, which he governed with the authority of an independent 
sovereign. He died in 1099. 

ARABIAN EMPIRE. 

Turkish Conquests. — In 1038, an unsuccessful battle terminated the 
Gfhazneyide dynasty, and the choice of the victorious Turks fell on 
Togrul-beg, founder of the family which bears the name of Seljukian. 
In the space of sixteen years he conquered Balkh, Carmania, Taberist an, 
and obeying the summons of the caliph, he overthrew the Bowides, win; 
had long reigned at Ispahan. Togrul next assumed the title of Emir a! 
Omra : seated behind a black curtain and holding the sceptre of the 
prophet, the Abbasside invested him with seven robes, gave him seven 
captives born in the seven climates which obeyed the Arab dominion, 
presented him the mystic veil, placed two crowns on his head, and girt 
him with two swords, to show that he was master both of the East and 
the West. Dying without children, he was succeeded by his nephew, 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 245 

Alp Arslan, in the title and prerogatives of sultan, 1063. The Valiant 
Lion, for such is the meaning of his name, gallantly attacked the Greek 
empire, and the provinces of Armenia and Georgia fell in three years. 
Romanus Diogenes bravely opposed him, but after a few trivial suc- 
cesses, was defeated and made prisoner, 1071. The fairest part of Asia 
submitted to Arslan ; his throne was surrounded by 1200 princes, and 
guarded by 200,000 hardy warriors. He died in 1073, and on his tomb 
might be read the following inscription : — " O ye who have seen the 
glory of Alp Arslan exalted to the heavens, repair to Maru, and you 
will behold it buried in the dust!" 

Malek-Shah, the eldest son of Alp, was victorious over all his com- 
petitors for the sovereignty, and extended his dominions from the Chinese 
frontier to Arabia and the neighbourhood of Constantinople. Twelve 
times this active monarch is said to have travelled through his vast 
kingdom. He embellished the cities of Asia with public buildings ; 
revived and honoured the pursuits of literature ; and by his reformation 
of the calendar, approximated nearly to the accuracy of the Gregorian 
style. The era named Gelalsean {i. e. glory of the faith), from one of 
Malek's titles, is fixed to the 15th of March a. h. 471, a. d. 1079. The 
shah's death, in 1092, was preceded by the murder of the vizir Nizam, 
the wise and virtuous minister of two sovereigns. Thirty years' faith- 
ful service could not screen him from the attacks of faction, and at the 
age of ninety-three he fell beneath the dagger of a fanatic — the first 
victim of Hassan Sebek, the celebrated founder of the Assassins. 

With the son of Alp Arslan disappeared the unity of the empire. 
Barkiarok succeeded in Persia ; but already three separate dynasties 
reigned in Carmania, Syria, and Iconium, which, though they had 
obeyed Malek-shah, became nearly independent at his death. The most 
powerful of these petty kingdoms was Roum, which had been founded 
by a prince of the royal family in 1084. Towards the end of the tenth 
century Jerusalem had fallen under the power of the Turks, but access 
to its holy places was still allowed to the Christians. In 1076, it was 
taken by the Turks, who insulted and oppressed the citizens and pil- 
grims during the twenty years that their domination lasted. The Caliph 
of Egypt obtained possession of it in 1096, but three years afterwards it 
was captured by the crusaders. 

BRITAIN. 

Danish Line. — Ethelred II., in the hope of freeing himself and his 
subjects from the odious tribute of Dane gelt, plotted the massacre of 
every Dane within his kingdom. At the appointed time, 13th Novem- 
ber 1002, the treacherous design was executed, but failed, as it merited, 
in its results. Sweyn reappeared with a numerous force, and after 
some years of hostility, compelled the native sovereign to take refuge in 
Normandy, and was himself proclaimed king of England, 1014. Ed- 
mund Ironside, 1016, struggled manfully for his father's crown, and was 
several times victorious over Canute, Sweyn's successor ; but his death 
established the foreigner on the throne in 1017. This prince, justly 
named the Great, was affable, wise, and virtuous. By his marriage 
with Emma, Ethelred's widow, he conciliated the vanquished, and dis- 
armed the Duke of Normandy, while the powerful Earl Godwin was 
21* 



246 MIDDLE AGES. 

gained over by receiving the hand of his daughter. His reproof of the 
flatteries addressed to him by his courtiers is well known, and throws a 
favourable light on his character. Preserving the authority of the laws, 
he added to their efficiency by other good institutions of his own ; and 
effectually checked the incursions of the Scotch on the northern frontier. 
He composed songs which were sung alike by Danes and Saxons ; and 
patronized the literature of the monks not less than the wild poems of the 
scalds. In 1030, he visited Rome as a pilgrim ; and after a reign of 
twenty years, he died with a reputation inferior to no monarch of his 
age. He was succeeded by his' sons Harold, 1036, and Hardicaniite, 
103° ; on the death of the latter the crown returned to the ancient family, 
in the person of Edward thje Confessor, 1041. The accession of the 
Danish kings had produced little change in England, since most of their 
followers had embraced Christianity, and assimilated themselves gradu- 
ally to the natives, whose laws and language were not unlike their own. 
The mildness of Edward's character endeared him to his subjects, in 
spite of his Norman favourites ; but his reign was disturbed by the 
rebellion of Godwin, earl or governor of Kent, which was soon quelled, 
and by occasional hostilities with the Welsh and Scotch. In 1054, 
Siward, earl of Northumberland, and Macduff, earl of Fife, led an army 
against Macbeth, whose usurpation of the northern throne has been im- 
mortalized by the pen of Shakspeare. Edward died in 1006, and was 
buried in the magnificent church of St. Peter at Westminster, which he 
had rebuilt from its foundation, his subjects bewailing his loss like that 
of an affectionate parent. Harold, the son of Godwin, immediately 
claimed the sceptre, and procuring his election by the witan, to the 
prejudice of Edgar Etheling, the legitimate heir, was crowned in 1066. 
Two rivals, the king of Norway, and his own brother Tostig, now 
appeared to endanger his kingdom, but they were soon defeated. Wil- 
liam, duke of Normandy, proved a more formidable competitor, founding 
his claim to the crown on the purpose, if not the testament, of Edward, 
and on the oath which Harold himself had made to promote the duke's" 
succession to it. The king's reply was, that the promise had been 
extorted by violence, and that as he had been elected by the people, he 
would endeavour to show himself worthy of their choice. 

Each party immediately prepared for war, but it was unfortunate for 
Harold, that he had meanwhile to march against the Norwegian king, 
who had landed in the north of England. The two armies met at Si im- 
ford Bridge; and the ranks of the hostile cavalry having been broken, 
tiieir leader was slain, and his army almost annihilated. In the midst 
of the rejoicings which followed this victory, the news was announced 
that the Normans had landed on the coast of Sus 

No sooner had William received the answer of Harold, and heard of 
his coronation, than he began to make vigorous preparations for invading 
England. Ships were immediately constructed, supplies collected from 
all the adjacent parts of the Continent, and volunteers from every quarter 
crowded to his camp at the mouth of the Dive, eager to share in the 
danger and plunder of the campaign. Unfavourable winds, ae.d the 
loss of several vessels, I for a time the spirit, of the adventurers. 

A.t length the favourable moment arrived ; and quitting St. Valerv with 
hundred ships, he landed at Pevensey, 28th September 1066. 
Thither Harold flew with all the forces he could muster, and at a place 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 247 

called Senlac, about nine miles from Hastings, was fought the battle 
th* decided his fate. From an early hour until sunset the fight was 
continued with varying success, until the king fell pierced with an arrow 
and his soldiers fled panic-stricken from the field. 

" It was ordained (says Turner), by the supreme Director of events, 
that England should no longer remain insulated from the rest of Europe ; 
but should for its own benefit and the improvement of mankind, become 
connected with the atfairs of the Continent. The Anglo-Saxon dynasty 
was therefore terminated ; and a sovereign, with great continental pos- 
sessions, was led to the English throne. By the consequences of this 
revolution, England acquired that interest, and established that influence 
in tlie transactions and fortunes of its neighbours, which have continued to 
the present day, with equal advantages to its inhabitants and to Europe." 

The Norman Conquest, 10G6. — William I. did not even yet succeed 
to the crown without further struggle. Edgar, surnamed Etheling or 
the Illustrious, who had been nominated king on the death of Harold, 
was supported by the Londoners and others; but disunion and disaffec- 
tion prevented them from taking advantage of William's delay in 
marching upon the capital. At length, when he appeared before the city, 
after devastating all the surrounding country, a deputation of the inhabi- 
tants waited upon him with an offer of the crown, which was accepted, 
and the festival of Christmas appointed for the coronation. 

The Saxon chiefs, Edwin and Morcar, whose fatal retreat into their 
northern provinces had led to the surrender of London, being now 
overawed by the additional power which the invader had acquired by 
his possession of the capital and his title of king, took the custom- 
ary oaths of submission. Meanwhile the Normans were almost wholly 
engaged in dividing the riches of the conquered territory. Commis- 
sioners overran all the country that was in the power of their army, 
making inventories of every kind of property, public and private; 
inscribing and enregistering each article with the greatest care. Parti- 
cular inquiries were made as to the names of the individuals who died 
in battle under Harold, of such as had survived, as well of those who 
had been prevented, by what cause soever, from joining his standard. 
All those persons or their heirs were deprived of their possessions ; and 
the immense proceeds of this universal spoliation were the pay of the 
adventurers who had been enrolled in William's host. He himself 
retained for his own share all the treasures of the ancient kings, the 
church-plate, and the most precious of the articles found in the ware- 
houses of the merchants. The barons and knights received vast 
domains, castles, villages, and even entire towns, while the vassals 
were rewarded by smaller portions. Towers and strong places arose in 
every direction; all the natives were disarmed, and compelled to swear 
obedience to their new sovereign. To overawe the city' of London, the 
conqueror took up his abode in the Tower, which he enlarged and 
strengthened ; here he raised his dreaded banner bearing the three lions, 
and similar ensigns floated over two new castles towards the west of 
the city. The name of Saxon became a term of reproach, and during a 
whole century not one individual of this race was elevated to any civil 
or ecclesiastical dignity. Even their language and alphabetical charac- 
ters were rejected as barbarous ; in the schools, French only was 
allowed to be taught; the Norman idiom was employed in all legal acts 



248 MIDDLE AGES. 

until the reign of Edward III. ; and some slight traces of it may be 
found at the present day. 

The victor having- thus secured his conquest, returned to his dukedom 
to receive the felicitations of his Norman subjects; and during his 
absence, the Saxons, incensed by the arrogant government of his vice- 
roys, rose in arms. Their revolt however was of brief duration ; for 
hastily returning, he attacked Exeter, the stronghold of the insurgents, 
and took it after a siege of eighteen days. 

While all hopes of independence were thus gradually crushed in the 
West, the extensive provinces of the North offered an asylum to the 
friends of liberty. Edgar had early taken refuge with Malcolm Can- 
more, king of Scotland, by whom he was received as legitimate 
sovereign, and whose alliance was firmly assured by his marriage with 
Margaret, the youngest sister of the English prince. William did not 
wait for his antagonists to begin the campaign, but resolutely marching 
northwards, defeated all who opposed him, cruelly devastating the 
whole country, at the cost, it is said, of more than a hundred thousand 
lives. Malcolm was soon obliged to submit, and consent to hold certain 
portions of his kingdom as a vassal of the English crown, while Edgar, 
the last male descendant of Cerdic, was compelled to seek a reconcilia- 
tion with the victor, 1072. 

The conqueror next turned his attention to the organization of his 
government, and as his power depended on the sword alone, all grants 
and fiefs were burdened with the condition of furnishing, whenever 
required, a certain number of horsemen completely armed; and by this 
regulation, called the knights' service, the king was enabled to raise in 
a brief space an army of 60,000 cavalry. The tenants of the crown 
exacted a similar and proportional service from their dependants. All 
the followers of William were noble, in right of their victory and foreign 
birth. After himself, in point of rank, stood the governor of the pro- 
vince, or count; next to him his lieutenant or viscount (vice-count) ; 
then came the different ranks of soldiers, namely, barons, knights, and 
esquires or sergeants. A general survey was made of England, the 
particulars of which were inserted in the Domesday Book, or Book of 
Judgment. From this account and other equally credible sources, we 
learn that the daily revenue amounted to 1061 pounds weight of silver, 
or nearly one million and a quarter sterling per annum ; an enormous 
sum, when we consider that the value of this metal was perhaps ten 
times as great as it is at present. 

Robert, William's eldest son, and the Norman lords, took advantage 
of the absence of their sovereign to revolt. From 1078 to 1084, the king 
conducted several expeditions into France, reduced Manceaux, and 
defeated the prince, 1079; but the latter again took up arms, on the 
pretence that the duchy of Normandy fell to him immediately upon his 
father becoming the sovereign of a foreign nation. He was" supported 
by the king of France, who could not regard without uneasiness the 
exaltation of his vassal. This was the origin of a long series of wars 
between the two countries, during which, as the conqueror was march- 
ing towards Paris, an accident caused his death, 1087. In the previous 
year, a total failure of the harvest in England, and a malignant disorder, 
carried off many thousands of the inhabitants. 

William Rufus, 1087, the second son, took possession of his father's 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 249 

throne, not however without resistance, for revolts broke out in several 
parts of the couritry, which were put down by the aid of the Saxons, 
who flocked to the royal standard. Normandy was at this time in a 
troubled state, owing to the bad government of Robert, who, after two 
invasions from England, resigned the administration of his kingdom to 
his brother for ten thousand marks, with which sum he raised a body of 
troops and embarked for the Crusades. Rufus governed his subjects 
with a rod of iron ; and his treasury, soon exhausted by his prodigality, 
was replenished by the most unscrupulous means. Taxes and fines 
were imposed on the liberty of hunting, while a transgression of many 
of the forest-laws was made punishable with death. It was this king, 
also, who established the " benefit of clergy," by virtue of which, all 
persons capitally convicted, saved their lives by proving that they could 
read — a most convincing proof of the rarity of such an accomplishment. 
William, who had now become odious to his people, was shot in the 
New Forest of Hampshire, whether accidentally or by design, is un- 
certain, 2d August 1100. 

Malcolm Canmore. — In 1091, William entered Scotland to revenge 
an invasion by Malcolm, whom he compelled to do homage for the 
southern counties. The Scottish king and his eldest son perished in 
battle at the siege of Alnwick castle, 1093, when the throne was seized 
by Donald Bane, who in a few months was deposed by Duncan, an 
illegitimate son of Malcolm's; and he, in his turn, was cut off by Mal- 
peder, Maormor or Earl of the Mearns. 

THE CHURCH. 

The Roman bishops had long been desirous of extending the Christian 
religion into the countries occupied by the Mohammedans; but the 
troubles of Europe prevented them from directing a full share of their 
attention to that object. A favourable opportunity, however, occurred 
at the end of this century, and Peter the Hermit preached a holy war 
throughout Christendom. The papal power and corruption had now 
nearly attained their height. Benedict IX. was so disorderly in his con- 
duct, that even the Italians degraded him from his office in 1038, and 
again in 1044. Leo IX., a pope of a different character, was not the 
least deserving of those who obtained the name of saint. His regula- 
tions for correcting and punishing the enormous vices of the clergy may 
be held as some criterion of the corrupt state of the church. 

Gregory VII. , Hildebrand, who was the first pontiff elected by the 
college of cardinals, 1073, was a man in every way suited to maintain 
the cause of the Roman see, his chief object being the attainment of 
worldly gain and authority. While he disputed with the emperor for 
power, he contended with human reason in support of the doctrine of 
transubstantiation, and with the clergy for the enforcement of celibacy; 
a practice that had early been introduced into the Christian church from 
the Jewish Essenes, and the philosophical sect of the Gnostics. He 
began by excommunicating some of the ministers of the Emperor Henry 
IV., on the pretence of simony, and then denied to the sovereign the 
right of investiture by the ring and crosier ; maintaining that the estates 
of the bishops might be conferred by a layman, but that those emblems 
)f spiritual power could only be bestowed by the vicar of Christ. The 



250 MIDDLE AGES. 

resistance of Henry led to the deposition of the pope by the council of 
Worms ; when Gregory in his turn excommunicated the king, and re- 
leased his subjects from their allegiance, 1076. His majesty obtained 
an absolution from this sentence by sitting at the pope's gate three days 
barefooted, and clad in coarse woollen. Retreading his steps, he not 
only subdued the German rebellion, but also banished the refractory 
pontiff, and commanded himself to be crowned in Rome by the antipopc 
Guibert (Clement III.), 1084. Gregory expired, the year following, at 
Salerno, saying, " I have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, there- 
fore do I die in exile/' 

Towards the beginning of this century the Hungarians were convert- 
ed, and their king, Stephen, received the title of " Apostolic" from the 
pope. In France, Berenger, archdeacon of Angers, openly attacked 
the new opinions on the eucharist, for which he was twice threatened 
with excommunication : while at Constantinople, the patriarch Ceru- 
larius resisted the claims of the Bishop of Rome to the chief rank and 
authority among the faithful, 1053. 

Transubstantiation. — This most astonishing doctrine arose from taking a 
figure of speech in a literal sense. According to the Romish church, when 
the words of consecration have been pronounced by the priest, the bread, and 
every fragment into which it is again broken, become the actual body of flesh 
and blood in which our Redeemer suffered upon the cross, — remaining bread 
to the sight, touch, and taste, yet ceasing to be so. Of all the corruptions of 
pure Christianity, this last was the slowest in being adopted. It was first pro- 
posed in 831 by Radbert, afterwards abbot of Corbey ; but it was not declared 
the doctrine of the church until 1215. When the question was first brought 
before Hildebrand, he not only inclined to the principle of Berenger, by whom 
it was opposed, 1079, but pretended to consult the Virgin Mary, who, he 
asserted, had pronounced against it. It was finally declared by Innocent III. 
to be a tenet necessary to salvation. 

La Chartreuse. — In the midst of the troubles which at this time agitated 
the church, there arose a new order of solitaries, who, by holiness of life, 
mortification, and prayer, at once edified the people and honoured religion. St. 
Bruno, founder of the order of Chartreuse, was born at Cologne of distinguish- 
ed parents ; and soon became so skilful in theology, that he passed for one of 
the most learned doctors of the age. While filling a distinguished station in 
the cathedral of Rheims, he suddenly formed the resolution of withdrawing 
into solitude. With some of his friends, in whom he had inspired similar feel- 
ings, he retired into the desert of the Chartreuse, in the diocese of Grenoble, 
whither the report of their sanctity quickly attracted a number of imitators. 
St. Bruno himself was invited to Rome by Urban II. ; but the disorders which 
he beheld there soon disgusted him, and he retired into Calabria, where he 
founded a monastery, in which he died. The regulations of the order are still 
preserved with the same strictness as when first drawn up. Each brother has 
a separate cell ; they live upon the plainest food, and that in small quantities ; 
and only the Sabbath is spent in each other's society. Their clothing is simple 
and coarse ; sackcloth is worn next the skin ; all gold and silver ornaments are 
expressly forbidden, even in their religious services, with the exception of a 
silver chalice used in the sacrament. They observe the strictest silence, com- 
municating only by signs, and support themselves by the labour of their hands. 

Truce of God. — In these ages, when a country was at peace with its neigh- 
bours, it was liable to be disturbed by priva\e wars, individuals taking upon 
themselves the right of deciding their own quarrels. In consequence of the 
confusion which this caused, it was enacted by the council of Clermont, that 
from sunset on Wednesday to sunrise on Monday, in every week, the Truce 
of God should be observed on pain of excommunication. But the same coun- 
cil also published a canon, which has ever since produced the most disastrous 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 251 

effects wherever Romanism is tolerated or established: namely, that "no 
bishop or priest shall promise upon oath liege obedience to any king or layman." 
Tradition. — With the decay and corruption of the Latin language, the 
Latin version of the Holy Scriptures had become useless to the people ; and 
the Roman see exerted its power in proscribing the use of such vernacular 
translations as existed. This was done in the consciousness that what was 
then taught as Christianity was not to be found in the written word of God.* 
Vague unwritten tradition, the artifice of the early heretics, was used instead, 
on the assumption that many things had been revealed which had not been 
committed to writing. Thus, like the Pharisees, the Romish clergy corrupted 
the ritual and faith of the Western Church. Gregory VII. issued the first of 
these prohibitions, refusing to the Bohemians the liberty of performing the 
service in Sclavonic. 

THE CRUSADES. 

Peter the Hermit. — During many centuries the devout Christians 
of <ill countries had gratified their curiosity or excited their piety by 
laborious pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the theatre of the mission and 
sufferings of our Blessed Lord. When at length Palestine fell under 
the dominion of the Saracens — and still later, when the Turkish hordes 
overran it, — these visits became more dangerous, and perhaps, on that 
very account, more numerous. The humble and defenceless palmers 
were treated with the greatest contumely; and, becoming victims of 
private rapine or public oppression, they often sank within sight of the 
object for which they had encountered innumerable perils. Their piteous 
tale of suffering excited the sympathy of Christendom, when the letters 
of Alexius and the eloquence of Peter the Hermit set fire " to that in- 
flammable mass of enthusiasm that pervaded Europe." The zealous 
apostle of the Holy War had been himself an eyewitness of the suffer- 
ings of the natives and pilgrims of Palestine.f 

Sylvester II. and Gregory VII. had meditated a European armament 
against Asia ; but the glory of the enterprise was reserved for Urban II. 
At the council of Clermont, 1095, the listening thousands shouted with 
one voice, " it is the will of God," and impressed on their garments the 
sign of the cross. Their numbers were increased by the offer of a 
plenary indulgence, extending to past as well as future crimes. Who 
would hesitate, when the crown of martyrdom was allotted to those who 
fell ] The departure of the expedition had been fixed for the 15th August 
1096 ; but before that period arrived, a thoughtless crowd of both sexes 
issued from France with Peter at their head, and Walter the Penniless 
as his lieutenant; other bands of enthusiasts followed, one in particular 
being under the guidance of a goose and a goat.£ Their earliest exploits 

* The practice of Rome has not changed with the times'. In 1817, a papal brief, ad- 
dressed to the Polish primate, was issued against Bible Societies, describing them as a 
vaferrimum inventuvi, pestem quoad fieri potest delcndam. 

t M. Pouqueville does not consider Peter as a mere enthusiast ; he shows that he was 
employed by the Frank merchants settled in Palestine, to plead their cause at the court 
of the French monarch, and point out the danger to which their commerce was- exposed 
from the ferocity of the Seljukian Turks, who had overthrown the Saracenic empire- 
Mem, de l'lnstitut. torn. x. 

t Mr. W. Billings, in his account of the Temple Church (London, 1838), thinks these to 
be allegorical Manichee or Gnostic standards. " The goose in Egyptian symbols meant 
Divine Son, or Son of God. The goat meant Typhon or the Devil. Thus we have the 
Manichee opposing principles of good and evil as standards, at the head of the ignorant 
mob of crusading invaders. Can any one doubt that a large portion of this host must 
have been infected with Manichee or Gnostic idolatry ?"— P. 5. 



252 MIDDLE AGES. 

were against the Jews, thousands of whom along the Rhine and the 
Moselle were pillaged and slain. The first party under Walter passed 
rate through Hungary; but were attacked, and one-third of their number 
slain, in Bulgaria. Peter, who followed with 40,000 men, seeing on the 
walls of Semlin the clothes of sixteen crusaders who had been impaled, 
took a cruel revenge, massacring all the prisoners he could make. No 
sooner had they reached Constantinople, and recovered from their 
fatigues, than their riotous behaviour compelled Alexius to hasten their 
passage aero s the strait. They soon fell an easy prey to Soliman on 
the plains of Nice; and 300,000 perished before one single place was 
rescued from the infidels. 

First Ckusade. — A disciplined army was now assembled under God- 
frey of Bouillon, Raymond of Toulouse, and Hugh the Great of Ver- 
mandois ; and breaking up their encampment in 10%, they marched by 
three different routes for Constantinople, where they all met within nine 
months. Their numbers and discipline excited the fears of the emperor, 
who skilfully extricating himself from every difficulty, saw all of them 
at length across the Bosphorus. At a grand muster on the plains of 
Bithynia next year, 100,000 armed knights were counted, the flower of 
European chivalry ; and the total number has been raised to 600,000, 
not including priests,' women, and children. The city of Nice, after an 
obstinate assault, fell into their hands ; and one fiercely contested battle 
at Dorylseum decided the fate of Asia Minor. A fatiguing march under 
a burning sun, during which they suffered intolerable thirst, conducted 
those iron-clad warriors to Antioch. The siege being formed about the 
middle of October, the town yielded to treachery at the end of seven 
months : but the victors, in their turn, were attacked at once by the 
garrison in the citadel and by an innumerable army of Turks or Arabians. 
During twenty-five days, the Christians were on the verge of destruc- 
tion; till, taking courage from despair, they sallied out and annihilated 
the besieging host, 1098. Famine and pestilence now made deep 
ravages among them : the Count of Flanders was reduced to beg i 
dinner, and Duke Geoffrey is said to have borrowed a horse. But the 
fainting spirits of the army were in due time revived by the cunning of 
a priest and the policy of the chiefs. St. Andrew had thrice appeared to 
Peter Bartholomew, for the purpose of revealing the place where the 
steel head of the lance that pierced the side of our Redeemer lay con* 
cealed. He was told to seek it and use it as a banner, and to 
the leaders of the expedition that under that mystic weapon they could 
not fail to march to victory. The Holy Lance was discovered, and 
dazzled the eyes or the imagination of a fanatical multitude. After a 
delay of ten months, caused by intemperance and distress, the army, 
diminished to 40,000, began their march to Jerusalem, which was taken 
after a siege of six weeks, in 1099, about 400 years after its conquest 
by Omar. Three days were spent in promiscuous slaughter : 
Moslems were put to the sword; the Jews were burnt in their syna- 
gogues; and a multitude of unfortunate captives still remained to gratify 
the avarice of the conquerors. "The holy sepulchre was now free; 
and the bloody victors prepared to accomplish their vow. Bareheaded 
and barefooted, with contrite hearts, and in an humble posture, they 
ascended the Hill of Calvary, amidst the loud anthems of the clergy ; 
kissed the stone which had covered *he Saviour of the world ; and 



ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. 



253 



bedewed with tears of joy and penitence the monument of their redemp- 
tion." 

The unanimous voice of the army elected Godfrey kino; of Jerusalem, 
1099, but he refused to accept the title, or to wear a crown of gold in 
that city in which his Redeemer had been crowned with thorns. He 
was scarcely seated on the throne, with the title of Baron of the Holy 
Sepulchre, when he was summoned to the field by the approach of the 
Sultan of Egypt with an army of more than 300,000 men. The total 
rout of the latter on the field of Ascalon completely established the 
Latin kingdom in Syria, which, by the arms of Godfrey and the two 
Baldwins, soon equalled in extent the dominions of the ancient mon- 
archs of Judah and Israel. The laws, language, and feudal jurispru- 
dence of the Franks were introduced ; the orders of the knights of the 
Hospital of St. John, and of the Temple of Solomon, were founded — 
the firmest bulwarks of the Christian power. 

Read: Mill's History of the Crusades; or, Michaud. 
GENERAL TABLE OF THE CRUSADES. 

FIRST CRUSADE. 



Date. 


Kings, Popes, 
&c. 


Events. 


Remarkable 
Persons. 


Causes. 


Results. 


From 
A. D. — 

to 
A. D. — 













Prepare : A similar table for each crusade. 
Gibbon, and the authors just named. 



Particulars may be found in 



CHIVALRY. 

The extravagances of chivalry long caused the institution itself to be regard- 
ed as an example of the caprice and absurdity of the human mind. The his- 
torian of the order traces its rise to the eleventh century, and to the aggrandize- 
ment of the French barons at the commencement of the third or Capetian race. 
Every noble in his castle emulated the pomp of his sovereign ; in each district 
the ceremony of a court was maintained, which became a school of manners 
where the high-born youth received their education. At the age of twenty- 
one, they were eligible to the honourable distinction of knighthood. Respect 
for the gentler sex, and the influence of the Christian religion, contributed to 
form the character of the young knight. He appears as a man actuated by a 
daring and martial spirit, seeking his reward in the approbation of the ladies, 
to one of whom, as to a superior being, the object of his early choice, he was 
bound to communicate every thought and action. The tournaments, mock- 
fights between selected individuals, date from a very early period, but their 
latter form must be ascribed to the regulations of Geoffrey of Preuilli, 10f6. 

Here throngs of knights and barons bold 
In weeds of peace high triumph hold, 
With store of ladies, whose bright eyes 
Rain influence, and judge the prize 
Of wit or arms. Milton. 

22 



254 MIDDLE AGES. 

The peacock, pheasant, and swan, were regarded as emblems of the parade 
and pride of chivalry, and reverenced with such religious veneration that the 
knight was sometimes bound by an oath made to his Creator, to the Virgin, to 
the ladies, and to one of these birds. But while the laws of chivalry breathed 
nothing but religion, virtue, honour, and humanity, the times were marked by 
profligacy, violence, and barbarism. It flourished during these centuries of 
returning order, having appeared when the worst period of barbarism had gone 
by, and society was beginning to assume a regular form. It gradually gave 
way to the chivalry of modern Europe, as mankind became capable of con- 
ducting themselves agreeably to reasonable principles of action. 

STATE OF THE WORLD AT THE EPOCH OF THE 
CRUSADES, FROM 1096 TO 1273. 

Rome and Germany were the dominant powers of the West: both assumed 
the right of creating kings, to which the former added that of deposing them. 
The quarrel of investitures, begun by Henry IV. and Gregory VII., set Europe 
in flames. The nobles took this opportunity of securing their independence ; 
anarchy reigned in the cities ; and the fields were ravaged by undisciplined 
bands of armed men. 

France began to assume a more tranquil position, the number of states 
being greatly diminished ; but there still remained several powerful vassals. 
The Dukes of Normandy, become more formidable since the conquest of 
England, had subjected the sovereigns of Brittany ; and the Dukes of Aqui- 
taine reigned over the vast territory lying between the Loire and the Pyrenees, 
the Cevennes and the Ocean. The greater part of Languedoc obeyed the 
Counts of Toulouse ; those of Flanders added to their possession of that fertile 
country the submission of their neighbours ; and the Counts of Champagne 
enjoyed that rich part of France which still bears the name. The Dukes of 
Burgundy, attached to the monarchy by the closest ties of blood, governed 
from the banks of the Loire to the Straits of Dover. 

In Spain two kings were the terror of the Moors : Sancho, who united 
Navarre to Aragon ; and Alphonso of Castile, who gradually extended his 
southern frontier. Meanwhile, the new Count of Portugal planted the bannei 
of Christianity on the banks of the Tagus. 

England, under the resolute conqueror William, was at once oppressed by 
his exactions and strengthened by his prudence. 

Bohemia, increased by the conquest of Poland, became a remarkable power, 
and sided with the Emperor, who had conferred the regal title on its chiefs. 
Hungary, in a weaker state, supported the interests of the pope, who had 
given its princes a crown. Poland was one wide scene of confusion, under 
dukes without talent and without authority. Sweden, Denmark, and Russia 
were still in obscurity. Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, reunited under the war- 
like Normans, were respected in the West, being at once the terror of the 
Greek empire, and the protectors of Italy. 

The Greek Empire, long tending towards its fall, and undermined by al. 
the evils which can destroy a state, was still preserved by the extreme prudence 
and sagacity of Alexius Comnenus. 

Venice and Genoa were the only maritime powers of the West ; but, rivals 
in navigation and commerce, they began to view each other with jealousy, and 
to nourish in secret the seeds of those quarrels which eventually proved fatal to 
both. 

The Caliphs of Bagdad were deprived of all but their sacerdotal power ; 
their empire was under the dominion of the Turks. Five thrones in Asia were 
filled by these warriors: — 1. Persia, whose sultan reigned supreme from Ar- 
menia to the Indus; — 2. Antioch and Syria; — 3. Damascus and Palestine; — 
4. Cilicia and the adjacent provinces; — 5. Nice, the seat of Soliman, governor 
of Bithynia. — The Caliphs of Cairo with difficulty maintained themselves upon 
the throne of Egypt ; the Miramolins of Africa were subdued by the Kings of 
Morocco, who protected the Saracen power in Spain, and were the greatest 
obstacle to the Castilian monarchs. 

Construct: A map of the world at this period, with the necessary explana- 
tions in lateral columns. 



TWELFTH CENTURA A. D. 255 



TWELFTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire.— 1118, Armenia recovered.— 1143, Manuel I. — 1185, House 

of Angelo.— Mourzoufle. 
The East.— 1117, Sangiar.— 1118, Knights of St. John of Jerusalem— Knights 

Templars. — 1127, Attabeks.— 1171, Saladin.— 1187, Jerusalem taken by 

Saladin.— 1191, Crusaders take Acre.— 1191, Old Man of the Mountain. 
Italy.— 1144, Arnold of Brescia.— 1158, Diet of Roncaglia.— Podesta.— 1174, 

Battle of Legnano.— Guelfs and Ghibellines. — 1183, Treaty of Constance. 
Germany. — 1122, Concordat. — 1138, Swabian Line — Guelfs and Ghibellines. — 

1152, Barbarossa. — 1194, Conquest of Naples. 
France.^— 1108, Rise of Civil Corporations. — 1113, Wars with England begun. 

— 1180, Philip Augustus — Parliament. 
Spain. — Alphonso VI. of Castile. — 1139, Alphonso, first king of Portugal — 

1150, Commoners in the Cortes, Aragon. — Military Orders. 
Britain.— 1100, Henry Beauclerc— First Charter.— 1135, Stephen.— 1138, Bat- 
tle of the Standard. — 1154, Plantagenets.— 1164, Constitutions of Clarendon. 

—1172, Invasion of Ireland.— 1189, Richard Cceur de Lion. 
Church. — 1154, Adrian I V.— Abbey of Fontevraud.— The Carmelites.— 1147, 

Second Cnisade.— 1189, Third Crusade. 
Literature. — Anna Comnena. — Eustathius. — Chroniclers in England. — 

Abelard, d. — Bernard of Clairvaux, d. — Peter the Lombard. — University of 

Cambridge. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Manuel I. — John Comnenus, who had recovered Armenia from the 
Turks and driven back the Scythians to their deserts, perished by a 
poisoned arrow, while meditating the extension of his empire to the 
Euphrates, 1143. He was succeeded by Manuel, whose adventures 
resemble a tale of knight errantry, and which have caused him to be 
ranked with the chivalrous Richard of England and Charles of Sweden. 
His lance and shield could scarcely be lifted by the strongest man. At 
one time he cut his way alone, without a wound, through a squadron 
of 500 Turks ; and in a battle against the Hungarians he was the first 
who passed the bridge which separated him from the enemy. In one 
day he slew forty barbarians with his own hand, and returned to the 
camp dragging after him four gigantic Turks, fastened to his saddle-bow. 
But he was wanting in sagacity to improve his victories, for though, 
like Alcibiades, he was in war a pattern of endurance to his soldiers, in 
peace he spent the time in luxury and licentious pleasure. Still he so 
far succeeded in maintaining the dignity of the empire as to reduce the 
Servians, while he supported the Crusaders in their expedition against 
Egypt, 

Andronicus. — Alexius II., a minor, who succeeded in 1180, held the 
sceptre only three years, under the regency of his mother. The state 
of the frontiers required a vigorous sovereign, and Andronicus was 
raised to the purple by a successful revolt. This emperor had signal- 
ized himself in the Turkish war by his bravery and remarkable adven- 
tures, but the more interesting part of his life begins with his imprison- 



2t>6 MIDDLE AGES. 

merit for a treasonable correspondence with the King of Hungary. 
Twelve years had passed, when accident discovered a long-forgotten 
recess into which he crept, when the guards supposed he had fled. His 
wife being suspected of aiding in his flight, was imprisoned in the same 
dungeon, and with her he shared his scanty provisions. At length, 
after one unsuccessful attempt, he escaped from the cell, and found an 
asylum in Russia. The exile was soon after pardoned and restored to 
his country, only to be removed to the more honourable banishment of 
the defence of the Cilician frontier ; but, having offended Manuel, he 
was forced to flee, and finally settled among the Turks of Asia Minor. 
After a space, however, he obtained leave to throw himself at the feet 
of his sovereign, who was satisfied with this submission of a brave and 
haughty spirit. The youth and inexperience of Alexius II., Manuel's 
successor, opened a fair field for his ambition ; and he was loudly sum- 
moned by the public voice to end the civil war now violently raging ir 
the streets of the capital, 1183. No sooner was his power confirmed 
than he began to exhibit a singular contrast of vice and virtue. His 
personal enemies he persecuted without mercy, while in other respects 
he was the father of his people. A narrative of his horrid cruelties 
would be less characteristic of his reign, than the term " halcyon days" 
given to a week of peace and happiness. Some have supposed that his 
severities originated in a deep-laid plan for regenerating the empire, to 
effect which, it was necessary to exterminate the factious and dissolute 
nobles of Byzantium. However we may now excuse his tyranny on the 
plea of necessity, his subjects could make no such calculation; and 
wearied out by their calamities, they burst into sedition, placing Isaac 

II. at their head. 

Andronicus struggled in vain against the infuriated mob ; and soon 
falling into their hands, he was torn to pieces in 1185. His death was 
a fatal blow to the Greek empire. Isaac Angelus won golden opinions 
from his subjects by his lenity and moderation ; but after being success- 
ful in some of his foreign expeditions, he had to defend his capital 
against one of his generals, Branas, who was defeated and killed by 
Conrad of Montferrat. The emperor next directing the whole strength 
of his army to oppose the march of Frederic Barbarossa, his treacherous 
conduct met with the fate it deserved, and he was obliged to make peace 
on dishonourable terms, 1189. While amusing himself with his buf- 
foons, or engaged in the gross delights of the table, his brother, Alexius 

III. was unanimously invested with the purple, 1195; but a change of 
masters did not bring a change of conduct, for the new monarch equalled 
his predecessor in dissoluteness of life. 

The son of Isaac had escaped into Italy, and persuaded the leaders of 
the fourth Crusade to aid in raising him to the throne, engaging to unite 
the Greek and Roman churches, and to contribute funds for the war. 
Alexius resisted in vain; Constantinople fell into the hands of the 
crusaders ; and the blind Isaac was recalled from a prison to a throne, 
1203. But dissension soon re-appearing, the Greeks and Latins fought 
three days ; and Alexius V., Mourzoufle, having deposed the empero 
and his son, shortly after murdered them. In this instance guilt over- 
reached itself, for the crusaders avenged the cause of the late monarch, 
and Constantinople was given up to pillage in 1204. The misery of 
the Greeks on the ruin of their city cannot be described ; the sanctity 



TWELFTH CENTURY A. D. 257 

of the churches and graves was violated ; the arts have to lament the 
destruction of the choicest sculptures in marble or in brass ; and the 
scholar to regret the loss of some of the noblest remains of Greek 
learning. 

THE EAST. 

The Attabeks. — The history of the Mohammedans in this century is 
almost that of the crusades. The Seljukian dynasty had flourished and 
was now doomed to perish like its predecessors, for Sangiar was the 
last of his race, 1117. Meantime the mayors of the palace again ap- 
peared in the East ; the Attabeks or father princes, who were governors 
of towns, made themselves independent in their respective provinces. 
Zenghi, 1127, fought thirty campaigns with various success; drove the 
Franks from beyond the Euphrates; and the martial but uncivilized 
mountain-tribes of Kurdistan were overawed by the governor of Aleppo 
and xMosul. Noureddin, his son, 1145, reigned from the Tigris to the 
Nile ; and the Latins were compelled to acknowledge the w T isdom, courage, 
and frugality of this faithful servant of the Abbassides. " O Noureddirl," 
exclaimed an oppressed man, " where art thou now ? Arise from the 
dead; arise, to pity and protect us!" — The reconquest of Egypt from 
the Fatimites was the work of time, as they were assisted by The Frank 
army of Jerusalem, 1163. Three sanguinary campaigns were shortly 
after followed by the deposition of the caliphs, and Egypt exchanged the 
green colour of Ali for the black banner of the Abbassides. The famous 
Saladin was elected governor of Egypt by the universal acclamations 
of the army, 1171, and he soon contrived to make himself independent. 
Before his death he had extended his power beyond the valley of the 
Nile from Tripoli to the Tigris, and from the Armenian mountains to 
the Indian Ocean. In 1187, he invaded Palestine with an army of 
80,000 men, gained the decisive victory of Tiberias, and took Jerusalem 
after a short siege. 

These events gave rise, in less than two years, to the Third Crusade, 
in which he contended so successfully against the valour of the lion- 
hearted Richard and the craft of Philip, that he was enabled to negotiate 
for peace on favourable terms. The reign of this great leader was ter- 
minated by death, and his vast dominions were divided, in the reign of 
the Caliph Naser, 1193. 

ITALY. 

The events of the preceding century had gradually undermined the 
authority of the emperors in this peninsula, although their title had 
never ceased to be acknowledged. Frederick Barbarcssa, the greatest 
military commander of the age. was ambitious of regaining all the 
power and privileges of the Iron Crown.* He appeared in Italy at the 
head of a well-appointed army to support his claims, and after a brief 
delay caused by the diet of Roncaglia, 1158, by the hostility of Pope 
Adrian IV., and by the punishment of a few small rebellious towns, he 
laid siege to Milan, which he captured and rased to the ground, 1162. 

* The iron crown of Lombardy is described by St. Marc as having the srold bordered 
with a rim of iron. It was, with two others, presented to the churcli of Monza, where 
the first Lombard prince had abjured Arianism, a. d. 591. 



258 MIDDLE AGES. 

The Lombard cities were now subjected to a podesta, always a stranger, 
and who held his extensive powers during the pleasure of the emperor. 
But when fortune is at the lowest, it must change for the better : a secret 
league formed by those communities, encouraged by Alexander III., by 
Venice, and by the Greek court, overturned the fabric of absolute power, 
and Frederick fled in disguise from the decisive field of Legnano, 1174. 
A truce of six years followed, the terms of which were not unfavour- 
able to the allies. On its expiration, the treaty of Constance, 1183, 
secured the peace and liberty of the Italian republics. But dissension 
and hatred soon began to appear among the confederated cities ; and the 
factions of the Guelfs and Ghibellines again subjected them to the 
German sway. 

Arnold of Brescia. — Arnold, the author of what was aptly named 
the heresy of politicians, after his return from France, where he had 
studied under the celebrated Abelard, preached at Brescia against the 
corruption and ambition of the clergy, 1139. Being condemned by the 
council of the Lateran, he was compelled to retire to Zurich, where he 
taught without restraint. At the end of five years, he returned trium- 
phant to Rome, within the walls of which he lived protected by the 
senate, and applauded by the people. At last, to gratify the pontiff, he 
was delivered up by Frederick in 1155, and expiated at the stake the 
dangerous errors he had inculcated. 

Venice. — The crusades, which gave such an impulse to all the rest- 
less spirits of the west of Europe, were not unfelt by the Venetians, 
who sent a fleet of 200 vessels to share in the first of these expeditions. 
The siege of Jaffa was raised through the dispersion of the Saracens by 
the Doge Micheli, who, after paying a visit to Jerusalem, distinguished 
his homeward voyage by the sack of Rhodes, and the temporary occu- 
pation of other isles of the Archipelago. 

Marriage of the Adriatic. — When Frederick Barbarossa attempt- 
ed to subject the rich communities of Lombardy, Pope Alexander took 
refuge in Venice. The emperor violently demanded that he should be 
given up, but received a severe defeat from Ziani, who destroyed forty- 
eight sail of the German fleet in 1177. The pontiff accompanied the 
triumphal procession which went forth to congratulate the victor. " Take 
this rino - , Ziani," said the pope, " and present it to the sea as a testi- 
mony of your dominion over it. Let your successors annually perform 
the same ceremony, that posterity may know your valour purchased 
such a prerogative, and subjected this element to you, — as a bridegroom 
is husband and lord over the bride whom he has chosen." The donation 
of a consecrated rose is also said to have crowned these allegorical 
nuptials. 

GERMANY. 

Henry V. — As soon as Henry mounted the paternal throne in 1100, 
he declared that he would never abandon the rights of investiture and 
homage ; asserting his pretensions in still plainer terms than those which 
had led to his father's melancholy death. Paschal II. wished to decide 
the question by reducing the church to the poverty of apostolic ages, 
and by causing the clergy of all ranks to subsist on the alms of the 
faithful. Such a proposition was treated as heretical by the bishops, 



TWELFTH CENTURY A. D. 254 

ind the war recommenced. It was carried on during several years with 
various changes ; but at last Henry, who was shaken by the terrors of 
excommunication, and the threatening attitude of the German princes, 
signed with the pope the famous concordat of Worms, 1 122, in which 
the emperor renounced the investiture by the ring and crosier, the sym- 
bols of spiritual authority, and retained his right over the temporalities 
of the several dioceses. Henry expired three years after this transaction. 

Guelfs and Ghibellines. — The Franconian line became extinct with 
Henry V., and as the Germans were exhausted by their efforts to 
establish an hereditary monarchy, they raised to the throne a friend of 
the church, Lothaire, duke of Saxony, 1125. The new emperor, sub- 
missive in all things to the clergy, renounced the prerogatives guaran- 
teed by the diet of Worms. His successor was Conrad, the first of the 
Swabian family, 1138; and in the disputes which raised him to the 
crown began the deadly feuds of the Guelfs and Ghibellines. The 
origin of these famous names is singular. A battle was fought in 1140 
by the generals of Conrad against Welf, duke of Bavaria, whose name 
was the war-cry of his army ; that of the imperialists was Wibelung, 
a town in Franconia, whence the emperors of that line are said to have 
sprung. Hence the corruption Ghibelline came in Germany to signify 
a partisan of the emperor, and Guelf, an adherent of the great vassals, 
or in Italy, of the pope. The reigning family of England is descended 
from this latter house, which traces its ancestry to the reign of Charle- 
magne, and even as far back as to the invasion of Attila. 

Barbarossa. — Frederick Barbarossa, 1 152, who endeavoured to acquire 
a real authority in Italy, found two great obstacles — the pope, and the 
towns of the north which had revived the spirit and political feelings of 
the Greek republics. At the invitation of his holiness and of many of 
the smaller Lombard cities, he entered Italy, and punished the Milanese. 
After restoring Adrian IV., and putting into his hands Arnold of Brescia, 
who had recalled the shadow of Roman liberty, Frederick, twice master 
of the imperial city, was crowned emperor in the capitol. His warfare 
with the republics was carried on with varied success, till at length he 
made peace with the Lombards on terms most advantageous to them, 
although in the form of an edict, issued at the diet held at Constance, 
1183. By this he granted to the towns the rights which they had exer- 
cised, and recognised the validity of all the usages prevailing among 
theni. His career was closed at the head of 150,000 men whom he was 
leading to the Holy Land. Having conquered all the enemies he met, 
the way to Syria lay open before him, but when he arrived on the banks 
of the Selef (Ca/ycadnus), impatient to cross the stream, the only narrow 
bridge over it being blocked up with soldiers, he plunged into the river 
on horseback. The impetuous torrent carried him away, and when his 
body was dragged to the shore, life was found extinct, 1190. Henry 
VI., who had administered the government during his father's absence 
in the crusade, conceived the design of declaring the empire hereditary, 
but was unable to accomplish his object from the violent opposition of 
the Saxons. His principal wars were against Sicily and Naples, which 
states he at last joined to the empire, 1194; the pope and the free 
cities of Northern Italy not perceiving that this dangerous union must 
destroy the political balance of the peninsula. Thus perished the 



260 MIDDLE AGES. 

Norman race in Italy, a few years before the duchy of Normandy was 
annexed to the French crown. Frederick II., although elected king of 
the Romans, was too young to succeed his father, who died in 1197. 
Two candidates appeared before the electors, Philip, the late emperor's 
brother, and Otho of Brunswick, third son of Henry the Lion. Each 
was nominated by his own party, and hence arose that deplorable 
anarchy which desolated Germany until the reign of Maximilian. 

FRANCE. 

Louis the Fat, 1108, had to contend at once against the power of 
Henry I. of England and the lawlessness of the French nobles. With 
this reign began the protracted wars between the two nations, so glorious 
yet so unprofitable to the English. This monarch reigned over a territory 
which, comprising what is called the isle of France and part of the Or- 
leannais, contained only five out of the eighty-six modern departments. 
In his struggles against his powerful barons, he received the. support of 
the clergy, so that before his death, in 1137, he had extended his influ- 
ence to the Pyrenees. Louis VII., surnamed the Young, adopted the 
policy of his father, but rashly joined the crusaders, contrary to the 
prudent advice of his faithful minister, Suger. On his return, the 
conduct of his wife, Eleanor, heiress of the great duchy of Guienne, led 
to a divorce; and she immediately married Henry II. of England, who, 
already inheriting Anjoufrom his father, and Normandy from his mother, 
was sovereign of more than one-third of France. The accession of 
Philip Augustus, in 1180, entirely changed the scene. His ambition 
and craft extended the authority of the monarchy, and concentrated its 
power by the subjection of the three great fiefs of Vermandois and Artois, 
and by the seizure of Normand)% Anjou, and Maine, under the pretext 
that King John, his vassal, refused to appear before him as his lord para- 
mount. The battle of Bouvines was gained by Philip over the English, 
principally by the burgher-militia, which had obeyed the royal summons 
to repel invasion. In this reign the Jews were expelled from Paris, 
the king having previously released all Christians in his dominions 
from their debts to them, with the reserve of one-fifth part for himself. 

CORPORATIONS AND STATES-GENERAL, 1119. 

The forms of civil liberty, the offspring of Frank independence and the 
Roman municipal law, though never lost in England, were neglected at a very 
early period in France. Deliberative assemblies, or parliaments of the Champ 
de Mars, were known under the kings of the first and second race ; and Char- 
lemagne was aided in his legislation by the presence of the peers and bishops. 
The three brothers, Louis, Charles, and Lothaire, were reconciled in a national 
assembly ; and by one, similarly convoked, Eudes was elected king. 888 ; and 
Hugh Capet about 100 years later. Yet so uncertain and irregular were the*e 
meetings, that only thirty-five have been counted between 613 and 1230: Louis 
the Fat took one of the most likely means that could be devised to elevate the 
people ; and this was contemporary with the English character of Henry I. 

At his accession the monarchy was feeble and languishing ; the aristocracy 
powerful and enterprising It was the good fortune of Louis to take advantage 
of a general movement of the people to forward his designs against the turbulent 
feudal barons. Then also the commons themselves first appear as a body in 
history, soon to take their station beside the nobles and the priesthood. He 
confirmed to each city the right of self-governmefit by its mayors and other 



TWELFTH CENTURY A. D. 261 

magistrates, from which arose those little republics known by the name of 
commons (corporations), that, in case of war, were to furnish a stated number 
of soldiers for the king's army. The great harons soon followed the sovereign's 
example, and enfranchised their vassals also. Under Philip the Fair, 1285, the 
communes became so powerful as to send deputies to the states-general, who 
were called the third estate (tiers eial). The states-general, a representative 
body, composed of the three orders of the state, were first convened in 1302, to 
support his majesty in his quarrel with Boniface VIII. About the same period 
a great national impulse was felt in most European states In Italy the com- 
munes, as we have seen, became republics ; for a brief struggle enabled them 
to vanquish the few powerful nobles in their vicinity. In France, on the con 
irary, the power of the commons was soon absorbed by royalty. 

Under Louis VII., the Young., the great vassals assumed the title of peers, 
and composed the parliament, or judicial tribunal for the arrangement of the 
disputes of the nobles, and to which appeals for denials of justice were referred. 
Its seat was not fixed at Paris till 1302, when great changes were introduced 
by Philip the Fair ; its sittings became regular, and the place of the nobility 
was gradually supplied by lawyers. It now became celebrated as the supreme 
judicial court, by which all the royal edicts were registered, and whose mem- 
bers, after 1468, were appointed for life, and by election. These rights it con- 
tinued to exercise till 1788. 

SPAIN. 

Alphonso VI. of Castile, and Alphonso I. of Aragon, succeeded in 
all their undertakings against the Moors ; and before the close of the 
century, the province of Aragon, with New Castile and Estremadura, 
was possessed by the Christians. Under Alphonso VII., the Castilian 
dominions were extended to the Sierra Morena, 1135 ; but the power of 
his kingdom was greatly diminished by its imprudent division into those 
of Castile and Leon, under his sons Ferdinand and Sancho. Frequent 
internal wars ensued, till the final coalition of the two branches of the 
Gothic monarchy in 1238, when Mohammed founded the kingdom of 
Granada, in the reign of Ferdinand III. 

Portugal, which had hitherto been governed by Castilian lieutenants, 
was resigned by Alphonso VI., 1095, to his son-in-law Henry of Be- 
sahcon, whose son Alphonso, after the glorious victory over the Moors 
at Ourique, was saluted king on the field of battle, 1139; but Castile 
did not willingly allow the assumption of the regal title until the pope 
had decided in favour of the new monarch. His territory lay between 
the Minho and the Douro. In 1147, he became master of Lisbon, and, 
dying in 1185, was succeeded by his son, Sancho I. 

The celebrated Military Orders of Spain date from about this period. 
The most ancient is that of Alcantara, 1156, fixed at the town of that name, in 
1219 ; and the decoration was a green lily-shaped cross. That of Calatrava 
began in 1158, and was confirmed in 1164 by Pope Alexander III. ; it received 
a red cross, also, in the shape of a lily, as a distinctive mark. The order of St. 
James of Compostella (Santiago) was founded in 1161, and sanctioned by the 
pope in 1175 ; it was distinguished by a red cross in the form of a sword. 
That of Montesa, 1317, replaced the Templars iti Aragon. To the three first 
orders may, in a great measure, be ascribed the rapid progress of the Christian 
arms in the subsequent centuries. 

BRITAIN. 

Henry I., Beauclerc, took advantage of the absence of his brother 
Robert in the Holy Land, and seized the crown, 1100. By his marriago 



262 MIDDLE AGES. 

with Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III., and niece of Edgar Atheling, he 
strengthened himself in the affections of his Saxon subjects. He was 
the first king who granted a general charter to the English people; he 
remitted all lines due to the exchequer; restored the ancient privileges 
of the church ; removed many of the feudal burdens ; gave London a 
municipal constitution ; and declared his intention of restoring the laws 
of Edward the Confessor. Louis VI. of France, fearing so powerful a 
rival, continually harassed him, and cordially supported William Clin- 
ton (afterwards Count of Flanders), the son of Robert. The death of 
Henry's son, in 1120, struck him with incurable sorrow. He died in 
1135, and was buried at Reading. The cruel treatment of his brother is 
not the only indelible stain on the character of this monarch : his cousin, 
the Earl of Moretoil, he imprisoned and deprived of sight ; and he drove 
the hapless satirist Luke de Barre to the commission of suicide. 

The crown was left to his daughter Matilda; but Stephen of Blois, 
son of Henry's sister, who had already gained the pope and the nobility, 
secured the throne. Having long been popular in England, he now 
attached the people more firmly to him by the abolition of the Danegelt, 
and by the restoration of several immunities which had been withheld 
by his predecessors. Nearly twenty years were spent in civil struggles, 
with varied success, to the ruin of the people and the prejudice of the 
crown, when a compromise was made, leaving Stephen in possession of 
his title, but stipulating that Henry, the son of Matilda, should succeed 
him. Stephen's reign presents a condensation of the evils incident to 
the feudal system. " The nobles burnt all the towns : — thou mightest 
go a whole day's journey and not find a man sitting in a town, nor an 
acre of land tilled. Wretched men starved of hunger: to till the ground 
was to plough the sands of the sea." 

Henry II., Plantagenet,* mounted the throne in 1154. By inherit- 
ance and marriage he possessed a great part of France, viz. Normandy, 
Anjou, Touraine, Maine, Guienne, and Poitou, with Saintonge, Au- 
vergne, Perigord, Limousin, and Angoumais. The life of this able king 
was spent in war both against temporal and spiritual powers. He re- 
pressed the boldness and rapacity of his nobles, who had taken advan- 
tage of the disturbances of the preceding reign; endeavoured to reduce 
the clergy to subordination, and to check their encroachments, or, as 
they called them, immunities and privileges. By the 4i Constitutions 
of Clarendon," 1164, it was declared that priests should be tried before 
the civil tribunals, without appeal to the pope ; and that the consent of 
the monarch was necessary to the promulgation of any papal edict 
within the kingdom. The commons, who had profited by the submis 
sion of the nobles, obtained the re-establishment of trial by jury, and 
the exemption of their property from the debts of their lords. During 
the humiliation of the monarch, who had been excommunicated for his 
supposed share in the murder of the turbulent Becket, the people again 
profited by having a sculage, or military tax, substituted for personal 
service. The circuits of the judges were now first appointed. The 
subjection of South Whales, and the invasion of Ireland, 1172, were the 
principal events of this reign. The latter days of the king were imbit- 



1 So called from the family device, a sprig of broom (planta genista, plante a genet). 



TWELFTH CENTURY A. D. 263 

tered by the rebellion of his sons, supported by the pope and the King 
of France. 

Richard I., Cceur de Lion, was not reconciled to his father when he 
was informed that the latter had died in Touraine, 1189. His first act 
before visiting England was to release his mother Eleanor from prison, 
and to appoint her regent. His coronation at Westminster was signal- 
ized by a cruel massacre of the Jews ; their habitations were pillaged 
and set on fire, and in the city of York alone five hundred perished who 
had taken refuge in the castle. After raising large sums of money by 
the sale of employments, and other means, he set out for Syria, where 
his daring exploits, with the long captivity he suffered in Germany as 
he was returning, made his generous subjects forget his errors and his 
vices.* When he reached home in 1194, he found his kingdom a prey 
to the greatest troubles. The Bishop of Ely, whom he had left regent, 
was expelled by the barons, and Prince John had obtained supreme 
influence in the new administration. All the projects of the disaffected 
were now disconcerted, and the King of France, who had aided the 
prince, was immediately attacked. The most brilliant affair in the sub- 
sequent war, which financial difficulties prevented being carried on with 
any vigour, was the battle of Gisors, in Normandy, in which Philip 
Augustus narrowly escaped. A peace was concluded in 1198, and the 
next year Richard died of a wound received before the castle of Chalus 
near Limoges. 

Ireland was fondly supposed by its antiquarians to have been peopled by 
Phoenicians. But the songs of the minstrel are an imperfect substitute for 
genuine history, and sober truth must confess that the green island was little 
more than a battlefield for its uncivilised inhabitants even long after its invasion 
by the English. The doctrines of Christianity are said to have been first pro- 
claimed in it by Palladius in 430, and by St. Patrick in 450 ; but perpetual 
intestine war among the various chieftains, and the incursions of the Danes, 
soon checked its progress towards civilisation. About the middle of the twelfth 
century, the country was divided into the five hostile kingdoms of Leinster, 
Munster, Ulster, Meath, and Connaught, besides several inferior principalities. 
One monarch was chosen to preside over a kind of deliberative assembly held 
at undetermined periods, and which possessed little power. The deposition of 
the King of Leinster and his flight to England, led to one of the most fortunate 
events in the history of Ireland. After the successful expedition of Earl Strong- 
bow, who restored Dermod with an inconsiderable troop of knights and archers, 
Henry himself landed in 1172, and effectually established the English pale. — 
Druids existed in Ireland so late as the year 1166. 

Scotland had long and effectually resisted the Roman arms, and spread 
terror over the adjacent countries of England and Ireland ; but her history is 
obscure and greatly mingled with fable till the tenth century. The names of 
Duncan, d. 1039, and Macbeth, d. 1056, will ever attract the attention of the 
student from their connexion with one of the noblest specimens of dramatic art. 
Malcolm III., d. 1093, kindly received many hundreds of Saxons who had fled 
from the tyranny of the first William, and settled them in the Lowlands. These 
brought with them the civilisation of their homes, and improved the character 
of the native inhabitants. David I. was defeated at Cutton Moor, near Northal- 
lerton, in the Battle of the Standard, 1138, but, superior to the monarchs of the 

* A chronicle written in England, in 1455, relates that the place of Richard's confine- 
ment was discovered by Blondel, a French minstrel, who, being near a castle, played an 
air well known to the king, and heard it repeated by the royal captive. This is probably 
nothing more than a romantic fiction. The emperor Henry VI. purchased Richard from 
Duke Leopold of Austria for sixty thousand pounds, speculating on the probability of 
i'htaining a larger ransom. 



264 MIDDLE AGES. 

age, he endeavoured to soften the manners of his people by the establishment 
of numerous churches and monasteries, among others, Holyrood in 1128, and 
Melrose in 1136. William the Lion, who had supported the sons of Henry II. 
of England in their rebellion against their father, was taken prisoner, 1174; 
and regained his liberty only on the condition of becoming the liegeman of 
Henry for his territories, which feudal superiority was restored by Richard I. 
on the payment of 10,000 marks. 

THE CHURCH. 

Romish Usurpations. — Though the papal power now began to assert 
its supremacy over all temporalities, the Emperor Henry V. succeeded 
in the dispute with Paschal II. about investitures, in 1111. Next year, 
however, Henry was excommunicated ; but the pontiff was finally com- 
pelled to yield by the persevering emperor, whose claims were confirmed 
by the diet of Worms, in 1122. During several years two popes con- 
tested the chair of St. Peter, and the city of Rome was agitated by a 
restless party who desired to restore to the senate its former privileges, 
and to reduce the power as well as the revenues of the pope. Adrian 
IV., 1154, the only Englishman that ever sat in the papal chair, de- 
clared his intention of preserving the majesty of the church, as well as 
the authority of the clergy. He compelled the Emperor Barbarossa to 
hold his stirrup ; and by his granting Ireland to Henry II. of England, 
he seemed to claim all islands as the property of St. Peter. Another 
pontiff, Alexander III., is said to have trodden on the neck of the 
emperor, as he knelt and kissed his foot, 1177. It was this haughty 
bishop who refused to sanction the wise Constitutions of Clarendon, 
and absolved Becket from the promise he had made to observe them. 
Innocent III., who ascended the papal throne in 1198, soon acquired 
such an independence and supremacy as his predecessors could never 
have contemplated. He ordained that the doctrine of transubstantiation 
should be embraee I by the church ; established the formidable tribunal 
of the inquisition ; the mendicant order of friars was taken under his 
protection; and auricuhr confession was enjoined. He even exercised 
a dispensing power which set at defiance the claims of morality {qui, 
secundum plenitudinem poieslatis, jure possumus supra jus dispensare). 

Second Crusade, a. d. 1147. — The example and success of the First 
Crusade led the Christian soldiery of Western Europe again to unite 
under Conrad III. and Louis VII. This second expedition had been 
preached by St. Bernard for the delivery of the Latin kingdom of Jeru- 
salem from its Mussulman invaders. The immediate cause of this cru- 
sade was the capture of Edessa by Zensrhi, in 1145 : this city had been 
taken in a foolish expedition led by Baldwin, brother of Oodfrey, at the 
beginning of the First Crusade. The armies of the king and the 
emperor amounted each to 70.000 knights, and their train was increased 
to the number of 300,000. The Germans marched through Hungary, 
and after various distresses, augmented by the treachery of the Emperor 
Manuel, they reached Constantinople, whence they were rapidly carried 
across the adjoining straits. Louis did not arrive till some time after; 
and he perceived with regret that the Christians in the eastern parts of 
Europe were less trustworthy than the infidels. Conrad meanwhile, 
misled by his Greek guides, advanced through the heart of the Turkish 
dominions, suffering the extremities of hunger and thirst. Everywhere 



TWELFTH CENTURY A. D. 265 

exposed to the incessant attacks of the enemy, only one-tenth part, with 
their commanders, survived, and reached the French army, encamped at 
Nice in Bithynia. Louis, with his forces, was soon left to pursue his 
march alone, and narrowly escaped destruction at the fords of the 
Maeander, in the mountains between Phrygia and Pisidia, 1148. He 
proceeded from Attalia to Antioch by sea, leaving, under Thierry, count 
of Flanders, the pilgrims and the sick, not one of whom reached the 
holy city. From Antioch he marched to Jerusalem, where he met Con- 
rad and his exhausted army. Abandoning the original purpose of the 
expedition, they proceeded to the relief of Damascus, which had been 
under the Moslem yoke nearly five centuries. The white cresses of St. 
John, and the red crosses of the Templars, were ever foremost in the 
numerous skirmishes that took place ; but all their exertions terminated 
in defeat, and the two Christian monarchs returned to Europe, oppressed 
with the deepest sorrow, in 1149. 

Third Crusade, a. d. 1189. — The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem was 
overthrown by Saladin in 1187, but its internal condition had long pre- 
pared it for ruin. The city, as Gibbon remarks, was abandoned to the 
protection of a leper, Baldwin IV., — a woman, his sister Sybilla, — a 
child, her son Baldwin V., — a coward, Guy of Lusignan, — and a traitor, 
Raymond count of Tripoli. The rapid conquests of the Saracen spread 
grief and consternation through all Christendom; and, by the orders 
of Clement III., a new crusade was everywhere preached. Richard 
Co3ur de Lion, Frederick Barbarossa, and Philip Augustus, assumed 
the cross in 1188. The maritime states on the Mediterranean, and a 
numerous band of pilgrims from the north of Europe, had already pre- 
ceded them, and for two years the city of Acre held out against 30,000 
Franks. Nine battles were fought beneath its walls, the sultan being- 
eager to raise the siege ; but the arrival of the English and French fleets 
in the bay was followed by the surrender of the city. Disunion was 
soon apparent in the councils of the invaders, Philip and Richard inces- 
santly interrupting the campaign by their mutual jealousies. The 
former returned to France; after which, Richard, who continued the 
war, was uniformly victorious. But the romantic exploits of this chi- 
valrous monarch failed to produce any permanent effect. Before he 
quitted Palestine to meet an unjust captivity and early death, he con- 
cluded a treaty, in 1192, by which the holy sepulchre should be open to 
all pilgrims, and the seacoast from Jaffa to Tyre be held by the Latins. 
Thus ended the Third Crusade, and though five others at various inter- 
vals disturbed the peace of Europe, Palestine was never again the scene 
of action. A parallel has been drawn between these enterprises and the 
Trojan war ; and there are not wanting many points of resemblance in 
the character of the respective heroes and in the results of their labours. 
Poetry also has assisted to increase the likeness ; and the religious wars 
found a Homer in Tasso. This is, however, the weakest part of the 
similitude, for the tinsel of the Italian can bear no comparison with the 
pure gold of the great bard of antiquity. 

Assassins.* — The society which bore this name proved one of the 

*The word assassin is of doubtful etymology. Some think it derived from the name 
of the founder; others from haschischim, an intoxicating preparation of henbane and 
hemp, which, when smoked or otherwise inhaled, excites a violent delirium or a pleas- 
ing trance. 
23 



266 MIDDLE AGES. 

most dreadful scourges of the East. It was founded about the year 
1090, among the hills southward of the Caspian sea, by Hassan Sebek, 
the son of Ali. This prince of the Ismaelites, by uniting the doctrines 
of the Koran with the visions of some pretended prophets, established 
a politico-religious system, whose motto was, "to the faithful nothing 
is forbidden." The Old Man of the Mountain, for by that name he and 
his successors were generally known, resided first at Damghan, whence 
he removed to the fortress of Alamout, in the Persian territory, not far 
from Teheran. The daggers of his subjects were felt in the East and 
the West; and by them perished Conrad, marquis of Montferrat, while 
walking in the streets of Tyre, 1192. In Syria, where they amounted 
to 60,000, their capital was Massiat, a day's journey westward of 
Hamah, and from that place they possessed a line of seven other for- 
tresses, extending to the Mediterranean, near Tripoli The sect, which 
lasted 172 years, was finally destroyed by the Mongols.-* 

The Druses, who are said to have sprung from the Assassins, chose 
for their prophet, Hakem, an Egyptian caliph, notorious at once for 
cruelty and vice. When his licentiousness and murders had excited 
disgust among a portion of his subjects, he answered their remonstran- 
ces, not by denying his crimes, but by asserting that they formed a 
sublime allegory, full of inst uction to true believers. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 

Greek Empire.— 1204, Latin Princes.— 1259, Second Greek Empire— Michael 

Palaeologus.— 1274, Union of the Churches. 
Germany. — 1212, Frederick II. — Papal Disputes — Crusade. — 1241, Hanse 

Towns. — 1273, Rodolph of Hapsburg. 
Italy.— Italian Republics— The Visconti.— 1258, 1293, Venetian Wars.— 1282, 

Sicilian Vespers. 
France.— 1214, Battle of Bouvines.— 1226, Louis IX.— Parliament begun.— 

1268, Pragmatic Sanction.— 1285, Philip le Bel.— 1302, States-General— 

Albigenses. — 1302, Rout of Courtray. 
Britain.— 1199, John.— 1215, The Great Charter.— 1265, First Parliament. 

1283, Conquest of Wales.— 1297, Wallace. 
Spain.— 1212, Battle of Tolosa.— 1252, Alphonso X.—Siete Partidas. 
The East.— 1205, Affghan Dynasty, India — Mamelukes. — 1206, Genghis 

Khan.— 1279, Conquest of China, by Kublai Khan.— 1300, Ottomans in Bi- 

thynia. 
Church.— Mendicant Friars.— 1209, The Inquisition— The Albigenses. 
Inventions.— 1270, Glass Mirrors. — 1253, Linen first made in England.— 

1299, Spectacles at Pisa. 
Celebrated Men. — Aquinas — R. Bacon — Saadi — Duns Scotus — Marco Polo. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

The Latins. — The warriors engaged in the Fourth Crusade, 1202, 
were diverted from the more immediate object of their expedition by the 

+ Some families of the Assassins are reported still to exist in Lebanon ; but the last 
inhabitants of Massiat were put to the sword in the year 1809, bv a hostile tribe in that 
neighbourhood 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 267 

solicitations of the young Alexius Angelus, who implored their inter- 
cession in behalf of his father Isaac, whom another Alexius of the same 
family had dethroned and imprisoned. The usurper was soon defeated ; 
but the non-fulfilment of the terms of agreement and the daring usurp- 
ation of Ducas Mourzoufle, armed the Christian warriors anew against 
Constantinople. The French knights and the Venetian fleet, by a 
simultaneous attack, carried by assault the Greek capital, which had 
been hitherto deemed impregnable, and gave it up to pillage. The 
Latin princes next agreed to choose a sovereign from their own body, 
and Baldwin, count of Flanders, was saluted emperor with the applause 
of the whole army in 1204. The territory was afterwards divided 
among the French and Venetians; the latter long preserved the title of 
Lords of the Roman Empire. The Greeks did not patiently submit, 
and Theodore Lascaris, ruler of Nice, twice threatened the eastern 
metropolis. Trebizond, also, whither the wife of Manuel had fled with 
her infant sons from the relentless enmity of Isaac Angelus, was the 
seat of another rival to the Latin monarch. By her means, the Greeks 
of that region gradually formed, on the banks of the Phasis, a sove- 
reignty which the distracted government of the Angeli was unable to 
suppress. On the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders, Alexius 
was joined by many fugitives from that city. He had always retained 
the title of Caesar and King, and now fixed the seat of empire at Tre- 
bizond, without, however, abandoning his claim to the Byzantine throne. 
A more formidable opponent to the divided Latins was the revolted 
chief of the Bulgarians in 1205; for, being invited by the Greeks, his 
approach was marked by a general massacre of those spread over the 
face of the country. The gallantry of Baldwin led him to take the 
field with an inferior army ; but, being defeated and made prisoner, his 
captivity was closed by an agonizing death. While the throne was 
filled in succession by various celebrated warriors, the restoration of the 
Greek family was at hand. Theodore Lascaris, during a reign of 
eighteen years, had extended his principality of Nice to the greatness 
of an empire. John Ducas Vataces, 1222, encouraged agriculture and 
commerce, preserved friendly relations with the Turks, and reigned 
supreme from their frontiers to the Adriatic sea. Theodore Lascaris II., 
1255, thrice invaded Bulgaria ; but the honourable task of recovering 
Constantinople was reserved for Michael Pal^ologus, the most illus- 
trious of the Greek nobles. 

New Greek Empire. — With the aid of the Genoese, Palaeologus 
made himself master of the capital, 25th July, 1260. Some time pre- 
viously, he had caused himself to be crowned emperor, and two years 
after put out the eyes of his ward, John III., in order to reign alone. 
Fearful of being attacked by Charles of Anjou, king of Naples, he sent 
to the council of Lyons two Greek bishops, who formed a treaty of 
union between the two churches, but which did not continue longer than 
the reign of Michael. The empire, indeed, was no sooner re-establish- 
ed than the priests were embroiled in quarrels, occasioned by discus- 
sions on obscure dogmas of the church. The controversy on the ques- 
tion whether the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Son, or by the Son, 
together with the disputes on the election of the patriarchs, was long 
the sole occupation of the sovereigns and their ministers. Palseologus 
was succeeded in 1283 by his son Andronicus the Elder, who being 



268 MIDDLE AGES. 

constantly assailed by temporal and spiritual enemies, had little time to 
promote his own views or his people's happiness. He recovered many 
isles in the Archipelago from the Franks, but on his eastern frontier was 
unable to make head against the Ottomans. Though reputed the most 
learned prince of the age, he was the slave of degrading superstitions. 

GERMANY. 

Henry VI., who died of poison in 1197, left his son Frederick under 
the guardianship of Innocent III. This rival of Gregory VII. raised 
up antagonists to Philip of Swabia, the brother and successor of Henry, 
procured the election of Otho IV. of Brunswick in his stead, and after- 
wards excommunicated him for refusing to restore the fiefs of the Coun- 
tess Matilda. The pope now brought forward Frederick II., at the age 
of eighteen years, who was acknowledged by the greater part of the 
German princes, 1212. After various contests, and the defeat or death 
of all his competitors, he received the imperial crown at Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, 1215. The greater part of his reign was spent in Italy and Sicily. 
His unwillingness to enter upon the crusades led to his excommunica- 
tion by Gregory IX., which he retaliated by boldly ordering the eccle- 
siastics to continue the performance of their sacred functions, and by 
proceeding to Jerusalem, which surrendered at the terror of his name. 
The interval from 1230 to 1238 was occupied in the re-establishment of 
order in Germany, disturbed by the unruly vassals, by the ecclesiastics, 
and by a rebellious son. In the subsequent disputes with the papal see, 
originating in charges of irreligion, Frederick appears to have caught 
some glimpses of pure Christianity. From a war of manifestoes the 
contending powers had recourse to arms ; and those of the emperor were 
successful in every quarter. But his excommunication in 1239, the 
crusade published against him in the following year, and his solemn 
deposition by the council of Lyons, 1245, changed his fortunes. City 
after city revolted ; and this great antagonist of the papacy expired in 
the castle of Fiorentino, near Lucera, in 1250. 

Interregnum. — With the death of Frederick began the great inter- 
regnum, from 1250 to 1272, during which Germany was in effect 
without any ruler ; for, although there were several, none exercised any 
real authority. In 1250, two princes bore the title of King of the 
Romans, — Count William of Holland, the priests' king, as he was 
denominated, and Conrad IV., son of Frederick II. On the news of his 
father's death, Conrad, abandoning Germany, where the scantiness of 
his resources reduced him to an inglorious station, passed into Italy to 
receive the fairest portion of the paternal inheritance — the kingdom of 
the Two Sicilies; but his death, in 1254, which has been attributed to 
Manfred, prevented his return into Germany at the head of a numerous 
and well-appointed army. The demise of William of Holland happened 
shortly after. The title of emperor was next conferred on Richard, earl 
of Cornwall, brother to Henry III. of England, and, on his mother's side, 
nephew of Henry the Lion. Richard, whose wealth was his chief re- 
commendation, had promised to the Archbishop of Mentz 8000 silver 
marks, 12,000 to the archbishop of Cologne, and 18,000 to the Count 
Palatine; but the choice of the other electors fell on Alphonso X., king 
of Castile, who offered 20,000 marks for each vote. This double electior 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 269 

was the first in which the grand dignitaries of the crown alone took a 
part, to the exclusion of all the other great vassals ; or, in other words, 
it is the first time that we see appear the seven princely electors. 

Alphonso never visited Germany ; but his competitor undertook several 
journeys, in each of which he distributed enormous sums of money 
among the electors. Although greatly occupied with the internal affairs 
of his native country, Richard, in 1269, passed an important decree, by 
which the estates, assembled in diet at Worms, bound themselves mu- 
tually by oath to punish all who should exact illegal toll, trouble the 
security of commerce on the high-road, or who should in any way dis- 
turb the public tranquillity. In another of his visits he gave the 
investiture of Austria and Styria to Ottocar, king of Bohemia. In his 
last journey, he espoused the daughter of a baron named Falkenstein, 
and, returning to England, died in 1272. 

In the midst of these petty wars between weak princes, the power 
and influence of the great commercial cities were slowly increasing ; and 
from their alliances for mutual defence arose three sorts of confedera- 
tion: — 1st, The Teutonic or Hanseatic league, 1241 ; 2d, The confede- 
tation of the cities of the Rhine (Burgfrieden), about 1255; and, 3d, 
The Ganerbinates, (Gan-Erbschaften), or treaties of succession and 
mutual defence. 

The long-continued anarchy at length wearied all parties, and it was 
determined to elect an emperor. The choice fell upon Rodolph of 
Hapsburg in Switzerland, a prince whose scanty resources and limited 
influence seemed to give no cause for fear. 

House of Hapsburg, 1273. — Rodolph, the founder of the house of 
Austria, was a brave and just monarch, wisely devoting his attention to 
the internal affairs of Germany. The rebellion and defeat of Ottocar, 
king of Bohemia, enabled him to confer the dukedom of the Austrian 
provinces upon his son Albert, 1283. But he was not less a peacemaker 
than a conqueror. He visited all parts of his dominions with incredible 
activity, re-established the security of the highways, and destroyed a 
number of castles which were little else than retreats for brigands. His 
death in 1291 was followed by an interregnum of ten months, — for, in 
order to avoid the appearance of hereditary right to the imperial crown, 
the electors refused to appoint Albert, and their choice fell upon Adol- 
phus of Nassau, 1292. In a contest which ensued, Albert destroyed 
his rival in 1298, maintaining till 1308 his imperial dignity, notwith- 
standing the irregularity of his election, and the determined hostility of 
Boniface VIII. 

Hanse Towns. — These were a commercial league (hansci) formed o 
the most flourishing cities in the north and west of Europe. In 1241, 
Lubeck associated with some neighbouring places for mutual protection 
against the pirates of the Baltic ; and by degrees it was joined by all 
the trading towns between the Rhine and the Vistula. Depots were 
established at London, 1250, Bruges, 1252, Novgorod, 1272, and Ber- 
gen, 1278. The administration of the league was intrusted to the four 
cities of Lubeck, Cologne, Brunswick, and Dantzic. During three 
centuries they maintained a degree of prosperity then unexampled, and 
by their navies commanded the narrow seas ; but the discovery of the 
Indies was a fatal blow to their commerce. The town of Ghent d^red 
23* 



270 MIDDLE AGES. 

to beard Charles V. in the very height of his glory, by putting one of 
his officers to the torture for having concealed the record which contained 
the ratification of the concessions they had extorted from former sove- 
reigns. By the power of the league the King of Sweden was dethroned, 
and his crown bestowed on Albrecht of Mecklenburg. Such was the 
wealth of these merchants that at a great ball at Bruges, the Queen of 
France retired in chagrin, because six hundred of the wives of the citizens 
were more splendidly dressed than herself. 

HOUSE OF HOHENSTAUFEN OR SWABIA. 

This family, issuing from the castle of Wibelung, was ennobled in Frederick Hohen- 
Btaufen, who, for his eminent services, was rewarded with the hand of one of the daugh- 
ters of the Emperor Henry IV. 

Frederick, Count of Hohenstatifen, and created Duke of Swahia, by Henry IV., in 1080, 
t 1105, m. Jignes, daughter of Henry IV. 



18. Conrad III. Frederick, d. of Swahia, j9 lb ert, Henry, Leopold, 

emp. 1138, | 1152. m. Judith, d. of Henry the Black, successively d. of Austria, 

t 1126. 



19. Frederick I., Barbarossa, emp. 1152, t 1 100 = Beatrice, heiress of Burgundy. 

20. Henry VI. emp. 1190, 21. Philip, emp. 1197, Three other sons, 

m. Constance, heiress of Sicily. m. Irene Angela. 

23. Frederick II. k. of Sicily, 1197; emp. 1212, f 1250. 

24. Conrad IV. emp. 1250, f 1254. Manfred, nat. son k. of Sicily, t 1266- 



Conradin, d. of Swahia, behead. 1268. Constance = Peter HI. k. of Aragon. 

****** ****** 

25. William of Holland, emp. 1247, f 1256. 26. Richard of Cornwall, emp. 1257, 

t 1271. 

HOUSE OF GUELF OR D'ESTE. 

This ancient and noble family descended, according to Muratori, from Adalbert 1. mar- 
quis of Tuscany (847-875). It received new lustre from the marriage of Albert Azon II. 
with Cunegonda of Altorf. Albert died in 1097, leaving behind him 

Welf I. created d. of Bavaria, 1071, Foulques, 

t 1101. Founder of the House of Modena. 



Henry the Black, d. of Bavaria, f 1126, Welf II. of Este = Matilda, countess 

in. Wilfrida, daughter of d. of Saxony of Este, heiress of Tuscany, t 1129. 

and heiress of Luneburg. 



Henry the Proud, d. of Bavaria, \ 1139 = Gertrude, d. of Emp. Lothaire II. 

heiress of Saxony and Brunswick. 



Henry the Lion, d. of Bavaria and Saxony, Welf III. d. of Tuscany, 

dep. 1180,11195. 

22. Otho IV. emp. 1208. William of Luneburg, 1st d. of Brunswick, 

t 1213: from him descends the reigning 
monarch of England. 



26. Alphonso X. emp. 1257. 



ITALY. 



Italian Republics. — The republics of Northern Italy refused to 
acknowledge Frederick II. as their sovereign, and their rebellious 
spirit was fomented by the popes. But the struggle that followed was 
not one of principle, but of faction, — Guelf against Ghibelline, the 
church against the empire. These states may be divided into four 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 271 

great clusters: — 1. Central Lombardy, containing Milan, Cremona, 
Parma, Mantua, Lodi, and other towns. 2. The March of Verona, 
between the Adige and the German frontiers. 3. Romagna, containing 
Bologna, Modena, and Ferrara. 4. Tuscany. The first and third were 
principally Guelfs; the second, Ghibellines; while the fourth was ba- 
lanced between the two parties. 

The misfortunes which oppressed Frederick pursued all his family. 
A kind of fatality seemed to impend over his race ; and it appeared as 
if the heroic house of Hohenstaufen was destined to astonish the world 
as much by its miseries as by its glory. His son Enzio died a 
prisoner at Bologna, after twenty years of captivity ; his natural son 
Manfred was deprived of the kingdom of Naples by Charles of Anjou, 
and perished in battle ; lastly, his grandson Conradin, who endeavoured 
to recover his heritage by arms, was defeated, taken prisoner and judi- 
cially murdered. 

Lombard Leagues. — The first Lombard league, 1167, against the 
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, succeeded in obtaining the objects for 
which it was formed. The alarming demonstrations of Frederick II. 
against the pope and the independence of the Italian cities aroused the 
fears of the Guelf party in that peninsula. The Milanese began the 
resistance by an appeal to the Lombard communities, fourteen of which 
adhered to the confederation. The departure of the emperor for the holy 
war was improved to the advantage of the revolted states ; and although, 
on his return, he published a law on the public peace, which was sup- 
ported by the eloquence of the preacher John of Vicenza, the suspension 
of hostilities was not of long duration. Frederick suddenly reappeared 
in Italy, in obedience to the call of Ezzelino, podesta of Verona and 
chief of the Ghibellines in Lombardy. After the victory of Corte 
Nuova, on the Oglio, in 1237, nearly all the towns made submission; 
but they were again driven to arms by the intrigues of the pope, who 
had conciliated the alliance of Venice and Genoa. 

After the death of Frederick II. the contentions still survived, although 
their objects were changed, the struggle being now between the nobfes 
and the people. Ezzelino III., with his brother Alberic, podesta of 
Treviso, was at first victorious over the Guelf party; but Pope Alex- 
ander IV. having preached a crusade against them in 1255, most of the 
cities united under the command of the Marquis of Este. To punish 
the citizens of Padua, who had received the crusaders, Ezzelino put to 
death eleven thousand of those enrolled among his troops. This atro- 
cious cruelty having withdrawn from him his most powerful allies, he 
was defeated and mortally wounded at Oassano, 1259. In the follow- 
ing year, Alberic and all his children were massacred; and the spoils 
of the family divided among several of his principal antagonists. 

Florence. — In this city, whose history previous to this period is 
obscure and unimportant, the chief offices were held by the Guelf 
families of Buondelmonti and Donati, and the Ghibellines of Amidei 
and Uberti. In 1250, about two months before the death of Frederick 
II., the former, supported by Pope Innocent IV., deposed the imperial 
governor, and framed a democratic government under a captain of the 
people and a Milanese podesta. Lucca, Pistoia, Sienna, and other 
towns, followed the example of Florence, and the Ghibellines were 
enabled to preserve the superiority in Pisa alone. After several years 



272 MIDDLE AGES. 

of exile, the proscribed faction, with the aid of Manfred of Sicily, 
being victorious in the battle of Monte Aperto, returned to Florence, 
whence they were again expelled in 1267, and the Guelfs re-established 
by Charles of Anjou, then signor of the republic. 

Venice. — The crusades were the commencement of the power and 
greatness of this commercial state. Mercantile advantages alone in- 
duced the people to embark in the holy wars, which opened to them all 
the Syrian harbours, and gave them greater security than they could 
expect from the infidels. They had already factories, officers, and a 
particular jurisdiction in the principal marts of Asia, when the Emperor 
Alexius Comnenus granted them the freedom of unlimited commerce 
in all his ports, with the exception of those in Cyprus and Candia. In 
the Fourth Crusade they acquired a universal monopoly in the Greek 
empire, and even a partial sovereignty in 1204. Corfu, Candia, am 
most of the i^Egean islands, fell under their power, and half of Con 
stantinople was thrown open to them. Henceforward Venice long pos 
sessed the exclusive commerce of the Black Sea, and established he. 
principal factories on its shores. 

The Venetians disputed the possession of Illyria with the Hungari 
ans, but their most formidable antagonists were the Genoese, with whom 
commercial rivalry had brought them into contact in 1264. They then 
lost their influence at Constantinople; and two naval defeats, in 1293 
and 1298, forced the Doge Gradenigo, to sign a treaty, forbidding the 
vessels of the republic to navigate the Black Sea. This epoch, so dis- 
astrous to their commercial prosperity, was equally ruinous to their 
ancient constitution. The sovereign power was placed, at this period, 
in the great council, which, in 1172, had deprived the general assembly 
of their voices in the election of the chief officer of the state, as well 
as the nomination of the tribunes, who each year were charged with the 
renewal of the council by the choice of fresh members. Gradenigo 
made a greater progress towards aristocracy by confining the qualifica- 
tion to the families of the senators then in office (il serrar del comiglio, 
1298); and, finally, under the Doge John Soranzo, the great council 
being made hereditary, in 1319, the Golden Book received the names of 
the houses retaining this new nobility. In the interval between these 
changes the spirit of the democracy was manifested by the conspiracy 
of Marino Boccfonio, 1299, and that of Bohemond Tiepolio, 1310. 
These popular movements served only to strengthen the nobles, who 
placed themselves under the mysterious guardianship of the council 
of ten. 

Genoa. — This commercial city entered the Lombard confederation in 
1238, previous to which period it had been considered part of the king- 
dom of Italy. Its earliest government was by consuls; but in 1190 it 
exchanged them for podestas, and these made way for the eaptains of 
the people, 1257, who again were succeeded by doges in 1339. These 
changes do not seem to have injuriously affected its mercantile interests 
In the latter half of the thirteenth century, the Genoese contributed 
their efforts to restore Constantinople to its legitimate monarchs, and 
the privileges which were granted in return for their services enabled 
them to dictate to Pisa and Venice. They disputed the possession of 
Candia with the Venetians, and took Corsica from the Pisans, whom 
they compelled to renounce all maritime operations, 1290. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 273 

P IS a. — This city took no part in the internal agitations of Italy, but 
always remained faithful to the German emperors ; while the island of 
Sardinia, one of her most valuable acquisitions, formed also the most 
extensive portion of her territory. It did not definitely acknowledge the 
republic until 1117, when it was divided into four provinces, Cagliari, 
Logodore, Galium, and Arborea. Corsica, for which Pisa and Genoa 
had long contended, gave rise to implacable hatred between the dis- 
putants. The battle of Meloria, gained by Uberto Doria over the 
Podesta Morosini, secured the island to the Genoese ; and by the rain 
which it inflicted on their enemies' marine, left them without rivals in 
the adjoining waters, 1284. The republic, exhausted by so great a 
reverse, and deprived of the protection of the Swabian family, fell under 
the influence of the Guelfs ; but their chief, Ugolino, being accused of 
planning the surrender of the city to the Florentines, expiated his trai- 
torous intention by the most cruel tortures, 1287. Intestine divisions 
served only to aggravate the misfortunes of Pisa, which was compelled 
to sign a treaty with Genoa, the articles of which stipulated that its port 
should be filled up, 1290. This act hastened the decay of the republic. 

The internal prosperity of the chief Italian cities may be inferred from 
the solid magnificence of their architecture. No part of Europe could 
show such commodious private houses, flagged streets, noble public 
buildings, and majestic bridges. These cities were fortified with mas- 
sive walls, and defended by an intrepid body of buighers. Their 
administration was under the management of annual consuls, aided by 
a popularly elected assembly : but a nominal sovereignty was still 
reserved to the people. Dissension, however, soon intruded upon this 
fair scene ; and civil strife proved more dreadful than any foreign war. 
Before the end of the century, the Lombard cities had fallen under the 
yoke of tyrants ; Ferrara acknowledged the Lords of Este ; the savage 
Ezzelino ruled over the cities beyond the Adige ; the Torriani and Vis- 
conti at Milan ; the Scaligers at Verona ; the Gonzagas at Mantua ; and 
at Padua the Carraras. 

Naples and Sicily. — The authority of the emperors in Italy was 
almost entirely lost at the death of Frederick II., in 1250. Pope Inno 
cent IV. planned the reunion of Naples to the States of the Church ; 
and, with this view, wrote to the clergy and nobles, exhorting them to 
take up arms, and declaring their kingdom henceforward irrevocably 
united to the holy see. But the intentions of the pontiff were frustrated 
for the present by the decision of Conrad and Manfred, the two sons of 
Frederick. The decease of the former in 1254 left the Neapolitan 
inheritance to Conradin, then a child two years old. Innocent took 
advantage of these circumstances, and was pursuing a victorious career, 
not, however, without a severe check from Manfred, when death termi- 
nated his ambitious designs in December of the same year. Alexander 
IV. was unable to maintain his predecessor's conquests : in two years 
Manfred recovered the kingdom, and on a vague report of Conradin's 
death, was proclaimed king. Urban IV., who filled St. Peter's chair in 
1261, resumed the designs of Innocent, and offered the crown to Charles 
of Anjou, brother of Louis IX. All Upper Italy declared for this prince, 
and Philip del] a Torre, signor of Milan, went so far as to receive a Pro- 
vencal podesta in his city. Manfred was, meantime, preparing a 
vigorous resistance. The Sicilian galleys, united with the Pisan fleet, 



274 MIDDLE AGES. 

were to close the seas against the Angevins, while two armies sent into 
Tuscany and the March of Ancona, defended the approaches to the king- 
dom. Neither of these precautionary measures succeeded. The two 
rivals met on the banks of the Calore, in the plain of Benevento, 1266. 
Treachery deprived Manfred of the victory, and, unwilling to survive 
defeat, he rushed into the ranks of the enemy, and fell, mortally 
wounded. 

The decisive victory of Benevento threw all the country into Charles' 
hands ; Messina declared in his favour, and thus was Sicily laid at his 
feet. The capture of Manfredonia completed the subjugation of the 
kingdom, and placed at the mercy of the victor all the family of 
Manfred, with the exception of one daughter, married to the King of 
Aragon. 

The exactions and violent proceedings of Charles were ill calculated 
to ensure the tranquillity of his government. The Ghibelline party sent 
to Conradin, then sixteen years old, the most flattering representations 
of the state of Italy ; the deputies of Sienna and Pisa brought with them 
100,000 florins, and the chief barons of Germany joined his army. 
Moved by their arguments, he advanced into Italy with the young Duke 
of Austria, Frederick, who was himself deprived of his hereditary estates. 
He entered Pisa, Sienna, and even Rome ; Charles had lost many cava- 
liers in Tuscany ; his fleet had been destroyed before Messina, by that 
of Pisa ; all Sicily, except Palermo, Syracuse, and Messina, raised the 
Swabian flag ; and his affairs seemed on the verge of ruin. The rival 
armies met at Tagliacozzo, near the Lake of Celeano, when a stratagem 
gave the victory to the usurper. Conradin was taken prisoner, and 
shortly after beheaded, with Frederick of Austria and the chief Ghibel- 
line captives, 1268. Thus ended the two houses of Hohenstaufen and 
Bamberg. 

After putting to death the illustrious individuals just named, Charles 
did not hesitate to sacrifice to his vengeance a crowd of the obscure 
partisans of Conradin. All the provinces were filled with executions. 
In Rome he cut off the legs of those who had declared against him ; 
and then, fearing the pity that would be excited by the view of their 
sufferings, he enclosed them in a wooden house to which he set fire. 
In Sicily the inhabitants of a whole city perished on the scaffold, not 
excluding the traitors w r ho had opened the gates to the French. Being 
now master of the Two Sicilies and head of the Guelf party, he became 
the arbiter of Italy. In 1269, in the diet of Cremona, he was declared 
signor of most of the Guelf cities of Lombardy, including even Milan. 
He would not have limited his success to this important station, had he 
not been drawn by his brother into the second crusade of St. Louis, in 
which, after making Tunis tributary to his crown, he turned his views 
towards Constantinople. Pope Gregory X., and his successor Nicholas 
III., impeded his designs; but a more formidable obstacle appeared in 
the person who, having been the companion in arms of Frederick II. 
and Manfred, burned with the desire of avenging their cause, and 
liberating his country. John of Procida, a banished Neapolitan, trave* 
led through Sicily in disguise, exciting the people to revolt, and animat- 
ing them with a hope of deliverance. The insurrection, which took 
place in 1282, has been named the Sicilian Vespers from the occasion 
on which it occurred. The inhabitants were excited by an outrage 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 275 

which was perpetrated on a young woman, under the pretence of search- 
ing for arms, as she was going with other citizens of Palermo on Easter 
Monday to the customary service at a church without the city. The 
Sicilians rose upon their oppressors : 4000 persons were massacred in 
one night, — victims to the popular indignation ; and before the end of 
April, the island was entirely evacuated by the French troops.* 

The Sicilians, terrified at their own boldness, sent deputies to implore 
the pardon of Martin IV. and his intercession with their king ; but the 
only reply that was given bade them think of self-defence, if such were 
possible. To prepare themselves against the vengeance of Charles, 
they called the King of Aragon to their aid. All the efforts of their 
enraged enemy w r ere unsuccessful before the walls of Messina, and his 
fleet was burnt by Loria, who also had the good fortune to make his son 
prisoner, 1284. In the following year the invader died, the victim of 
disappointed ambition. Charles II. was restored to liberty by a treaty 
which he did not observe ; and the King of Aragon, attacked by France, 
Castile, and Rome, was constrained to abandon Sicily. In 1303, his 
brother Frederick, who was soon elected to fill his place, by his talents 
confirmed the independence of the people, and the pope was compelled 
to acknowledge him as sovereign. 

FRANCE. 

Battle of Bouvines, 1214. — When John succeeded to the English 
throne in 1199, Philip supported a pretender in the person of Arthur of 
Brittany, grandson of Henry II. This prince fell into the hands of his 
uncle, and w 7 as murdered ; upon which Philip Augustus summoned John 
to appear and answer the charges made against him, as vassal of the 
crown of France. On his refusal, Philip confiscated his fiefs, seized 
on Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Poitou, leaving him Guienne alone. 
John was compelled to submit in silence, but, soon finding a favourable 
opportunity, he united with the French barons, the Earl of Flanders, 
Otho IV., and the Earl of Boulogne, in a formidable league against 
the French king. All had just cause of complaint, and all were ready 
to assert their rights by force of arms. Not fewer than 200,000 men 
combined against Philip, while 70,000 were the whole he could bring 
into the field under the Bishops of Senlis and Beauvais. Lut, never- 
theless, he was victorious ; and thus the safety of John's continental 
possessions was endangered, and the French monarchy more respected. 
The last years of Philip's reign were spent in tranquillity, though dis- 
turbances prevailed all around him. 

Louis VIII., 1223, was diverted from the wars against the English in 
France to prosecute his crusade against the Albigenses. For a lono- 
period the southern provinces had been insulated from the northern, and 
the Count of Toulouse, the most powerful baron in those parts, was also 
one of the richest princes in Europe; but his wealth and the premature 
civilisation which was the consequence, had drawn the people away 

*The French were long taught to remember this bloody lesson. " If I am provoked," 
said Henry IV., "I will breakfast at Milan, and dine at Naples."— " Your majesty," 
replied the Spanish ambassador, " may perhaps arrive in Sicily for vespers." To the 
credit of the Sicilian character, it should not be forgotten that the single Frenchman 
(William Porcelet) who had not disregarded the laws of justice and humanity, was, 
together with his family, safely conveyed to Italy. 



276 MIDDLE AGES. 

from the church of Rome. The reformers spread over Languedoc had 
already refused to recognise the spiritual authority of the pope, who, 
denouncing them as schismatics, lighted up a terrible war, which deso- 
lated one of the fairest portions of Europe. " Innocent III.," says the 
President Renault, " was the soul of this war, Dominic was its apostle, 
the Count of Toulouse the victim, and Simon, earl of Montfort, the 
chief." Louis VIII. marched against these opponents of the Romish 
church, with 200,000 men. After some resistance he took Avignon, 
which, strengthened with 300 houses fortified with towers, had been 
considered almost impregnable. Many cities in Languedoc opened their 
gates to him ; but a contagious disease spread among his troops, and he 
himself being seized with the disorder, withdrew to Montpensier in 
Auvergne, where he died, 1226. Louis IX., surnamed the Saint, being 
only eleven years old at the death of his father, his minority was spent 
under the regency of his mother, the excellent Blanche of Castile. 
Though the first fifteen years of his reign was one continued struggle 
against his refractory barons, his moderation and virtue, nevertheless, 
increased the influence of the monarchy. A series of destructive cam- 
paigns was avoided by his surrender of Guienne to Henry III. of Eng- 
land ; and the security of his people was maintained by his " Establish- 
ments," a code of feudal customs, the first monument of legislation raised 
by the Capetian family. But Louis was superstitious, and this led to 
his two unfortunate crusades, in the last of which, 1270, he met his 
death at the siege of Tunis. 

St. Louis united several provinces to his crown without the cost of one drop 
of blood. The alliances of his brothers, Alphonso and Charles, prepared for 
the union of Languedoc and Provence ; Blois and Chartres were purchased 
from the Count of Champagne, 1247; Nismes and Carcassone were gained by 
renouncing the feudal sovereignty of Barcelona, 1258; and the treaty of Abbe- 
ville with the English in 1259 consolidated the conquests made during the reign 
of Philip Augustus. From his impartiality, St. Louis was frequently chosen as 
mediator in the quarrels of his time : he endeavoured to reconcile the Duke of 
Brittany with the King of Navarre — the latter with the King of England — 
Henry III. with his barons — and Gregory IX. with the Emperor Frederick II. 
In all his transactions with the court of Rome, he firmly but respectfully 
defended the rights of his crown, and by his Pragmatic Sanction,* 1268, estab- 
lished the liberties of the Gallican church. 

Louis IX. prudently continued the work begun under the auspices of Philip 
Augustus, of increasing the royal power by controlling his vassals, not, how- 
ever, without due respect to such rights as were consecrated by age, although 
originally usurped by violence. For the first time deputies of the citizens were 
admitted into certain public assemblies. The administration of justice was 
reformed by wise institutions and by the influence of the "Establishments;" 
the limits of civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction were clearly determined by the 
orders of 1235 ; and the traders' companies regulated by useful decrees. M til- 
ler, speaking of St. Louis, observes, that the empire of the Franks was founded 
by arms ; but royalty in France was consolidated by the virtues of this monarch. 

Philip III. the Bold, considerably increased the royal domain by the 
addition of Poitou and Auvergne, 1271 ; while circumstances, arising 

*This regulation in matters of religion is commonly, but perhaps without foundation, 
attributed to Louis FX. A similar usage in episcopal elections was established by the 
famous pragmatic, sanction of Charles VIL. drawn up in an assembly of the French- 
church held at Bourges, 1438, which contains certain regulations for ecclesiastical dis 
cipline in conformity with the canons of the council of Basle. This rule, which was 
intended by the Gallician church as a barrier against the encroachments of the papa' 
court, was revoked by the concordat of Bologna in 1516, between Francis I. and Leo X. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 



277 



out of the death of Theobald II. on his return from Tunis, eventually 
gave Champagne and Navarre to the French crown. By these acquisi- 
tions, and that of the earldom of Toulouse, the king became on a sudden 
very powerful in the south. But he was not successful in the war in 
Sicily, undertaken to defend his uncle Charles of Anjou against Aragon. 
Having marched an army into Spain, he died on his return to France, at 
Perpignan, 1285. 

CAPETIAN DYNASTY: Portion II. 
Louis VI. the Fat, k. 1108. 



6. Louis VII. the Young, 1137, 
m. 1. Eleanor of Guienne. 

2. Constance of Castile. 

3. Alice of Champagne. 



Robert the Great, 

stock of the families of 

Dreux and Brittany. 



Peter (7th son), 

m. Isabella, d. and 

heiress of Reginald 

of Courtenay.ct. of 

Auxerre. 



7. Philip II. Augustus, 1180, 

m. 1. Isabella, heiress of 

Artois. 2. Agnes de 

Meranie. 



Margaret, 

m. Henry, son of 

Henry II. of England. 



Peter, 

emp. of Constantinople, 

1216. 

I 



8. Louis VIII. 1223, 
m. Blanche of Castile. 



Philip, 
ct. of Boulogne. 



Robert, 
emp. of Constantinople, 1221. 



9. Louis IX. 122fi, 

m. Margaret of 

Provence. 



Robert I. 

stock of House 

of Artois, extinct 

in 1472. 



Mphonso, 

ct. of Poitiers, 

m. Joan, heiress 

of Toulouse, 

t 1271. 



Charles, ct. of Anjou, 
m. Beatrice of Provence; 
stock of Sicilian kings. 



10. Philip III. the Bold, 1270, 

m. 1. Isabella of Aragon. 

2. Mary of Brabant. 



Robert, 
ct, of Clermont ; 
stock of branches 
of Bourbon, Ven- 
dome, and Mont- 
pensier. 



Peter, 
ct. of Alencon. 



Blanche, 

m. Ferdinand of 

Lacerda. 



11, Philip IV. the Fair, 1285, 

m. Joanna, heiress of Navarre 

and Champagne. 

I 



Charles, 

stock of Houses 

of Valois and 

Alencon. 



Louis, 
stock of House 
of Evreux-Na- 

varre. 



Margaret, 
m. Edward I, 
of England. 



12. Louis X. Hutin, 1314, 


13. Philip V. 


14. Charles IV. 


Isabella, 


m. 2. Clemence 


of Hungary. 


the Long, 1316, 


the Fair, k. 1322, 


m. Edward II. 


1 




m. Joan of 


t 1328, last of the 


of England. 


1 




Burgundy. 


first branch. 


1 


John I. 1315, 


Joanna, 


Joanna, 


Edward III. of 


lived but eight 


heiress of 


heiress of Bur- 


England, pretender 


days, and is 


Navarre ; 


gundy, and Ar- 




to the French 


not reckoned 


m. Philip 


tois; m. Eudes IV. 




throne. 


among kings 


of Evreux. 


d. of Burgundy. 






of France. 











Philip IV. the Fair, was bent upon the aggrandizement of the mon- 
archy by the reduction of the five great fiefs, Champagne, Guienne, 
Flanders, Burgundy, and Brittany. The first he obtained by marriage ; 
the second he got possession of by stratagem, but was compelled to 
restore in 1303; his attempt on the third was defeated by the terrible 
rout of Courtray, 1302, in which the Flemings took 4000 pair of gilt 
spurs, worn only by knights. The various difficulties in which this 
king was involved, by the depreciation of the coinage and his disputes 
with the clergy, led to the convention of the states-general, 1302. Pro- 
fiting by a quarrel between some Norman and English sailors, he coin- 
24 



278 MIDDLE AGES. 

menced a war with England, and took, with little resistance, all the 
strong places of Guienne and Gascony. Edward I. was then too much 
engaged with the Scottish war to defend his continental possessions , 
but he menaced France with a formidable league in the north. The 
defeat of the Flemings suspended the contest ; and, by the treaty of 
Montreuil sur Mer, Edward espoused, in 1299, Philip's sister, Margaret. 

BRITAIN. 

Magna Charta. — John, 1199, the murderer of his nephew Arthur, 
fell under the ban of the pope, and provoked his subjects to revolt. All 
the exactions usual to Norman kings were not only redoubled, but min- 
gled with outrages still more intolerable by this prince, who was not 
less contemptible for his folly than his cowardice. It was a fortunate 
circumstance that England was not at this period parcelled out like 
France into numerous petty states, separated from each other by laws, 
manners, and privileges. When the country rose as one man against 
his tyranny, John was isolated ; there was no province on which he 
could depend for support by concessions and privileges detrimental to 
the rest. He was therefore compelled to relax the severity of the forest 
laws, and to sign the Great Charter, 1215, the keystone of English 
liberty. "All that has since been obtained," says Hallam, "is little 
more than as confirmation or commentary ; and if every subsequent law 
were to be swept away, there would still remain the bold features that 
distinguish a free from a despotic monarchy." Sir J. Mackintosh 
observes, that " to have produced the Great Charter, to have preserved 
it, to have matured it, constitute the immortal claim of England on the 
esteem of mankind." This is what some rash men were about to 
exchange for the dominion of France in 1213. The attempt of John to 
annul the charter was happily frustrated by his death ; but he had already 
suffered the continental possessions of England to be diminished by sur- 
rendering to the French monarch, without a struggle, Normandy, Anjou, 
Touraine, and Maine, 1205. A quarrel with Innocent III. caused the 
kingdom to be laid under an interdict. The churches were closed, the 
sacraments withheld from all but children and dying persons ; and the 
dead were buried without prayers in unhallowed ground. John was at 
length compelled to yield, promising to do homage for his dominions, 
and to pay an annual tribute of 1000 marks. His character maybe 
summed up in the words of Juvenal, — " Monstrum nulla virtute redemp- 
tum a vitiis." 

Remarks on the Great Charter. 

On the English nation the charter has contributed to combine stability with 
improvement. It set the first example of the progress of a great people in blend- 
ing popular pretensions and the power of the nobles with a vaguely limited 
monarchy, so as at length to form, from these discordant materials, the only 
kind of free government which experience has shown to be reconcileable with 
widely extended dominion. 

Prepare : A sketch of Magna Charta, with the names of its chief promoters. 

Henry III., 1216, succeeded his father at the age of ten years. His 
minority w r as passed in peace and without any important event, under 
the successive guardianship of the Earl of Pembroke and Hubert de 
Uurgh. As soon as he attained his majority, he showed himself as 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 279 

unworthy the confidence of his subjects as did his father. Always 
guided by favourites, he was easily managed by De Burgh, on whom 
he lavished numerous offices. He oppressed his people with all kinds 
of exactions, and fell into a serious disagreement with his brother Rich- 
ard, earl of Cornwall, afterwards King of the Romans. He twice inter- 
fered in the civil wars of the regency in France, and was on both occa- 
sions unsuccessful. In 1245, he opposed the preaching of the crusade 
within his dominions, partly from mistrust of Louis IX., and partly from 
his being engaged in disputes with Llewellyn, the last native prince of 
Wales. 

England during nearly the whole of this reign was a prey to internal 
dissensions, excited by Henry's prodigality, favouritism, exactions, and 
continual violation of his people's rights. These grievances led to a 
revolt of the barons, who placed at their head Simon de Montfort, earl 
of Leicester, who had married Henry's sister. They compelled the king 
to agree to the provisions of the parliament of Oxford, reforming most 
of the abuses; but, in 1261, he recalled his assent, and procured Pope 
Alexander IV. 's dispensation from his oaths. St. Louis was umpire in 
the subsequent disputes ; but the barons being dissatisfied with his deci- 
sion, recourse was had to arms, when the battle of Lewes, 1264, threw 
the king and his brother Richard into their hands. The commons were 
now, according to some historians, summoned for the first time to the 
national assembly or parliament.* Affairs, however, soon changed 
appearances. Edward, the presumptive heir to the crown, defeated the 
insurgents at Evesham, in 1265, when Leicester perished, and the king 
was delivered from his captivity. Peace being established, the prince 
joined in the crusade of St. Louis, and two years after was recalled to 
England on the death of his father. 

Edward I., 1272, the conqueror of Wales and the Justinian of Eng- 
land, proved equally wise and patriotic. Warlike and sagacious, he 
corrected the many abuses which had crept into the administration of 
the laws, and reduced the W T elsh to subjection, 1283. A disputed suc- 
cession to the sovereignty of Scotland led to his interference in the affairs 
of that country. By his arbitration as lord paramount, Baliol was seated 
on the throne, 1292; but four years afterwards, on a frivolous pretext, 
Edward invaded and overran the whole country, carrying the king pri- 
soner to London. The Scots, however, soon re-asserted their independ- 
ence, and next year, under the brave Wallace, cleared the country of 
the invaders. The name of this heroic soldier is worthily ranked among 
the foremost of patriots — with Gustavus Vasa, the two Williams of 
Orange, with Kosciusko, and with Washington. The battle of Falkirk, 
in 1298, proved fatal to Scotland ; and it was while marching against 
the noble Bruce, who had assumed the royal title, that this enterprising 
monarch breathed his last, 1307. 

SPANISH PENINSULA. 

Castile and Leon. — In the beginning of the thirteenth century, an 
army of 80,000 Moorish cavalry, accompanied by a corresponding body 

*This parliament, held in London, 22d January 1265, was composed of the clergy and 
barons, with two knights from each county, and two harnesses from every borough. The 
division into separate houses was effected between 1339 and 1343. 



280 MIDDLE AGES. 

of infantry, invaded Spain, spreading terror throughout Christendom. 
At the summons of Innocent III., 60,000 crusaders from France and 
Germany crossed the Pyrenees, and took Malagon and Calatrava. Dis- 
appointed in their expectations of the pillage of these two cities, they 
returned to France, leaving only a small part of their forces under the 
Archbishop of Narbonne and Theobald of Blacon. With these the 
Sierra Alorena was passed, and the battle of Tolosa fought, 1213, in 
which, if we may credit the historians, not fewer than 200,000 .Mussul- 
mans perished. Alphonso IX. of Castile died shortly after, leaving the 
crown to his infant son Henry, under the regency of Don Alvaro, chief of 
the house of Lara. The unimportant reign of this monarch was followed 
by that of Ferdinand III., son of Alphonso IX. of Leon. On the death 
of his father, in 1230, who expired on a pilgrimage to St. James of 
Compostella, he united Castile to the kingdom of Leon. 

The situation of Christian Spain was extremely flourishing at this 
period; two formidable invasions had been repelled, and the Moors pos- 
sessed little beyond Murcia, Valencia, with part of Andalusia and Gra- 
nada. The order of St. James, founded about the middle of the twelfth 
century, having acquired eighty commanderies and two hundred priories, 
was capable of bringing a thousand knights into the field. Next fol- 
lowed the orders of Calatrava and Alcantara, which filled the ranks of 
the Christian army with their bravest warriors. Thus success followed 
upon success; and Alphonso, the brother of Ferdinand, crossing the 
Guadiana, defeated the Moors. The king in person took Ubeda, and 
Cordova fell before an army of adventurers, 1236. The sovereigns of 
Murcia and Granada submitted to pay tribute; Seville was attacked and 
taken after a two years' siege ; and Ferdinand was projecting the cap- 
ture of Ceuta when he died in 1252. 

Alphonso X. of Castile and Leon, 1252, received on his accession to 
the throne the oaths of fidelity from the sovereigns of Granada and Nie- 
bla. The latter city he conquered in 1259, and four years after defeated 
the rulers of Murcia and Granada, notwithstanding the aid they had re- 
ceived from Morocco : he further united great part of Murcia to Castile, 
forcing the King of Granada to acknowledge his dependence by payment 
of a tribute. But the glories of the earlier years of this reign were tar- 
nished by the disturbances which clouded its close. The depreciation 
of the coinage and the establishment of a maximum led to extreme misery 
and discontent among all classes. The invasion by the King of Fez in 
1275, reconciled for a time the monarch and his subjects; yet Sancho 
the Brave, his second son, who had the greatest share in the defeat of the 
Moors, renewed the troubles by aspiring to the crown, which by right 
should have fallen to his elder brother, Ferdinand of Lacerda. Alphonso 
was forced to submit to his rebellious son, who was acknowledged heir. 

The first act of Sancho IV., 1284, was to deprive his brother, Don 
Juan, of Seville and Badajoz, which had been left to him by his father. 
Resuming the war against the Moors, his fleet, united with the Genoese, 
several times defeated the infidels, and the King of Morocco fled in 
dismay from the siege of Xeres, 1285. The course of his victories was 
suspended by the quarrels of the rival houses of Haro and Lara ; but on 
the settlement of their disputes he was enabled to return against the 
Moors, from whom he took the fortress of Tarifa. He died in 1295, 
leaving his son Ferdinand IV. under the regency of his mother, Mary, 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 281 

who was fortunate enough to satisfy the ambition of Don Juan, her late 
nusband's brother, and to reconcile the two hostile families. Henry, 
third son of Ferdinand III., having reappeared in Spain after an absence 
of twenty-five years, seized on the regency ; but was soon environed 
with enemies, whose w r ant of unity was fatal to their success. The 
death of the usurping regent, which happened shortly after, threw the 
chief power into the hands of Don Juan and the house of Lara, who 
persuaded the king to deprive his mother of her authority. On obtaining 
Iiis majority, Ferdinand re-established concord for a time, by giving a 
suitable appanage to the eldest son of Alphonso of Lacerda, and by 
ceding the north of Murcia to Aragon. Il Ferdinand's reign the im- 
portant fortress of Gibraltar was taken from the Moors. 

Aragon. — Peter II., who ascended the throne in 1196, after contri- 
buting to the victory of Tolosa, perished at Muret, fighting on the side 
of the Count of Toulouse against Simon of Montfort. His successor, 
James I., surnamed the Conqueror, 1213, undertook an expedition to the 
Balearic Isles, attacked Majorca, defeated the Moors, marched towards 
their capital, and himself mounting first to the assault, took possession 
of the place, which, with the whole island, he united to Aragon. an im- 
portant conquest for the maritime commerce of the Catalonians. When 
two Moorish princes were prosecuting their claims to the throne of 
Valencia, James, proceeding to the succour of one of them, penetrated 
to the capital, which he captured. The submission of Valencia gave 
fresh importance to Aragon ; but his successors, wishing to unite the 
crown of Sicily to those which they already wore, the occupation of that 
island diverted them from the Moorish wars to mingle in the quarrels 
then agitating Italy. 

Peter III., 1276, who had married the daughter of Manfred, king of 
Sicily added that island to the possessions of the house of Barcelona. 
It was in vain that Pope Martin IV. declared his deposition, and con- 
ferred the crown on Charles of Valois, second son of Philip the Bold, 
for the Admiral Roger de Loria maintained everywhere the superiority 
of the Aragonese flag, and thereby entirely neutralized the invasion of 
Catalonia by the French monarch. At Peter's death, in 1285, the crown 
of Sicily was left to his second son James, and that of Aragon to Al- 
phonso III., the Beneficent, who took Minorca from the infidels. At the 
news of Alphonso's death, in 1291, James, abandoning Sicily to his 
brother Frederick, returned to assume the crown of his native land. To 
terminate the war with France, he espoused Blanche, daughter of 
Charles of Naples, and promised to restore Sicily to that prince ; but 
Frederick found means to prevent the execution of this promise. 

THE EAST. 

Mamelukes. — On the death of Saladin, in 1193, his empire was di- 
vided among the princes of his family; Egypt still maintaining its 
pre-eminence. But the sons of that great leader were dethroned by his 
brother Malek-el-Adel, who began, in 1200, the dynasty of the Ayoubite 
sultans ; and in the reign of his last descendant, St. Louis undertook 
the crusade in which he and his army were made prisoners, 1250. In 
the same year the Mamelukes broke out into open rebellion, and having 
murdered their new sovereign, they established a dynasty of their own. 
24* 



282 MIDDLE AGES. 

This class of men were principally Circassian or Georgian slaves whom 
the Egyptian sultans had purchased to fill the ranks of their army ; and 
being trained as a body-guard, they proved very brave though sometimes 
turbulent soldiers. After this period, few of their sovereigns died a 
natural death ; the only variety in their fate was the means employed — 
the sword, poison, or the bowstring. The Mamelukes oppressed the 
unfortunate Egyptians, and rilled the country with scenes of violence, 
until their dynasty was ended in the Sultan Selim, 1517. 

Genghis Khan. — Another terrible scourge now appeared in Asia. 
On the banks of the Selinga was born, in 1164, Temugin, better known 
as Genghis Khan.* This leader of the Mongols issued from the distant 
regions of Chinese Tartary at the head of a fierce and uncivilised race, 
whose course was everywhere marked by desolation, 1206. His career 
was one splendid victory. Invading China, he seized on seven of the 
northern provinces ; conquered Corea and Thibet; defeated 400,000 men 
under Mohammed, the sultan of Kharism ; and routed the Czar of Rus- 
sia. All Asia, from the sea of China to the Euxine, yielded to his 
power ; and though he died in 1226, his conquests were continued by his 
successors. One of them, Baatu, made a rapid incursion into Europe, 
1236, the broadest rivers proving no obstacle to his savage followers. 
Having conquered Russia, they invaded Poland, and destroyed the cities 
of Lublin and Cracow. The monarchs of Europe trembled on their 
thrones, when this second Attila was recalled by the death of the Great 
Khan Octai in 1245. 

The caliphate of Bagdad was terminated by the Mongols, under 
Hulaku, in 1258, a. h. 656. During forty days the city was given up 
to plunder, and 200,000 persons were slain. The conquest of China 
was completed in 1279, by Kublai Khan, who had raised the power of 
his nation to the summit of grandeur. He died in 1294, when the 
empire was divided into Iran (Persia), Zagatai (S. E. Asia) ; Kaptschak 
(Russia); and China. 

Read: Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. Ixiv. 

THE CHURCH. 

The Mendicant Orders. — The reform called for by the corrupt lives 
of the clergy demanded a stronger spirit of enthusiasm in their defence. 
Francisco, the son of a rich merchant of Assisi, was actuated in his 
youth by a delirious piety ; in his riper years he became either a mad- 
man or an impostor. With the pope's consent he instituted in 1210 a 
class of Friars Minorite, better known as Franciscans, from the name 
of their founder, in honour of whom they modestly call themselves the 
Seraphic order ; having installed him above the seraphim upon the throne 
from which Satan fell. They were bound to observe the severest rule 
of life : they went barefooted, and trusted to alms for their daily bread. 
They increased with great rapidity ; so that in the eighteenth century, 
when the Reformation must have diminished their number by one-third, 

* Genghis Khan, or the greatest khan, had been raised to the command of his nation 
by the help of another whose name has been mixed up with numerous fables. Temugin 
had married the daughter of Ouang, the great khan of the Keraites, who, from the story 
of having been converted by some Cliristian monks and baptized, is known in Europe 
as Prestcr John. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 283 

there were found 28,000 Franciscan nuns in 900 nunneries, and 115,000 
friars in 7000 convents. 

The rival order of Dominicans, which was instituted on the same 
principles, and about the same period, became noted for performing the 
sanguinary tasks of the Inquisition, extirpating heretics with fire and 
sword. By the council of Lyons, 1274, the number of the mendicant 
orders was confined to four: — Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, 
and Austin friars, — all of whom proving the ever-acting agents of the 
holy see, received in consequence great privileges from the popes. The 
monks could confess, absolve, and preach in all churches ; and thither 
ran the people to listen to these men, coarsely clad and attenuated by 
austerity, rather than to the delicate and sumptuous prelates, who glit- 
tered in purple garments and gold. These orders, by undermining the 
influence of the superior clergy, restored to Christianity the democratic 
character which it bore in the primitive church, and which was mani- 
fested with such terrible energy during the religious wars. 
Read: Southey's Book of the Church. 

The Inquisition. — The establishment of the Inquisition by Dominic, 
in 1204, enabled the papal court to direct all its efforts to the extirpation 
of heresy. The leading features of this odious tribunal were the impen- 
etrable secrecy of its proceedings, the insidious mode of accusation, the 
use of torture, and heavy penalties. This weapon of the church was 
first successfully employed against the Albigenses, but was afterwards 
suppressed in France. Introduced into Germany in 1231, it was 
abolished after the lapse of three years on account of the violence of the 
inquisitor, and never again restored. In Italy it succeeded in crushing 
the Reformation ; but it was successfully resisted by the Neapolitans, 
who were alarmed at the cruelty with which it was administered in 
Spain. In that country it possessed a formidable power, and there an 
auto-da-fe was solemnized so lately as 1783. 

Read: M'Crie's Reformation in Italy. — Llorente's Inquisition. 

Albigenses. — This sect, which derived its name from the town of 
Albi, was probably a union of all who differed from the Romish church, 
collected round the simple Waldenses — so called from Valdo of Lyons 
— whom Providence had kept untainted by the papal corruptions. The 
suspicious death of Pietro de Castelnau, while crossing the Rhone in 
1208, called forth a bull from Innocent III. against all schismatics, and 
particularly against Raymond VI. count of Toulouse, absolving his 
subjects from their allegiance, and informing them that faith was not to 
be kept with heretics. Simon, count of Montfort, was appointed leader 
of this Western Crusade. It began with the storming of Beziers, where 
15,000 Albigenses were slain. It is said that when some of the in- 
habitants would have escaped, a Cistertian monk led on the crusaders 
with the cry of " kill them all ! God will know his own." At last 
Raymond VII., in 1229, was forced to capitulate, and the Inquisition 
was established in Toulouse. The Albigenses were dispersed, but not 
destroyed, by a determined system of persecution. During two cen- 
turies they supplied victims for the Spanish inquisition; in Bohemia 
they had a dreadful season of vengeance under Zisca and Procopius; 
in Germany they prepared the way for Luther; and in Britain they 
sowed that seed of which, by the blessing of God, we now enjoy the 
abundant harvest. 



284 MIDDLK AGES. 



CRUSADES. 



Fourth Crusade, a.d. 1202. — A new holy war was preached by 
Fulques of Neuilly, and Baldwin, count of Flanders, was made leader. 
The crusaders were diverted from the object of their expedition by the 
prayers of the young Alexius, who implored their protection in behalf 
of his father. Aided by Dandolo of Venice, they took the Byzantine 
capital, and elected Baldwin emperor. Other chiefs shared in the 
spoils; Boniface of Montferrat had the title of King of Thessaly ; 
Ville Hardouin was made Duke of Thrace; Athens was converted into 
a duchy ; Achaia into a principality ; and Corinth into a lordship 
Thus began the Latin empire in 1204, which lasted till 1261. 

Crusade of Children. — As the crusading spirit of the times haa 
seduced Louis IX., so even children were possessed by it. In 1212. 
nearly 90,000 youths of different countries left their parents and school- 
masters in order to betake themselves to the Holy Land. They pro- 
ceeded in great troops to Marseilles and Genoa, although their numbers 
were diminished by cold, hunger, and disease. As two merchants of 
the former city otfered to transport them across the sea, seven vessels 
quitted the port, by which they were carried to Alexandria, and there 
sold as slaves. Most of those who reached Genoa, in the hope of find- 
ing the bed of the sea dried up, were reduced to bondage by the in- 
habitants of the country. 

Consult : Michaud's History of the Crusades, vol. hi. 

Fifth Crusade, 1217. — This expedition was undertaken by the 
king of Hungary, Andrew II., who was aided by John of Brienne, 
king of Jerusalem; Hugh, king of Cyprus; and Leopold III., duke of 
Austria. The crusaders first landed at Acre, but their ill success in 
Palestine, and the departure of the Hungarians, induced them to turn 
their arms to another quarter. As Egypt was the great resource of the 
Mussulmans in the Holy Land, it was resolved to conquer Jerusalem 
by depriving it of its usual supplies. Accordingly Damietta was 
stormed, and the sultan offered to give up the Holy City with the true 
cross, when the pope's legate thought fit to reject his proposals and con- 
tinue the war. This resolution was fatal ; for, surrounded by the waters 
of the Nile, attacked on all sides by the Saracens, and wasted by a con- 
tagious malady, the Christians were forced to submit to humiliating 
conditions of peace, in 1221. 

Sixth Crusade, 1228. — The failure of the fifth crusade incited the 

fope to press the fulfilment of the vow which the Emperor Frederick 
I. had made to assume the cross ; but it was not until he had incurred 
the penalty of excommunication through his various delays, that the 
emperor set out for the Holy Land. Here, by a convention signed the 
following year, the Sultan of Egypt ceded Jerusalem, Bethlehem, 
Nazareth, Rama, and all the country between Acre, Tyre, Sidon, and 
Jerusalem. But the Christians did not long preserve their acquisitions. 
Weakened by civil wars, some forming alliances with the Sultan of 
Damascus, others with the ruler of Egypt, they lost Jerusalem in 1244 ; 
and although they recovered it again, and held possession of it for a 
brief period, they were finally driven out by the Kharismians, who 
massacred or reduced to slavery all the population of Palestine, and 
destroyed the sacred sepulchre. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. U. 285 

Seventh Crusade, 1248. — Cardinal Eudes of Chateauroux was the 
eans of giving birth to this war, in which Louis IX. sailed for Egypt 
with an army of nearly 60,000 men. That country was looked upon as 
the key of Palestine, and Louis made the city of Damietta the centre 
of his movements. Natural obstacles, the resolute opposition of the 
Turks, and the loss of many brave knights, including his brother the 
Count of Artois, compelled him to retreat when almost within sight of 
Cairo. Pestilence and famine aggravated the distresses of his soldiers; 
and the king himself became a captive, when his army was almost 
annihilated. His ransom was obtained by the payment of 400,000 
livres. At Acre, he lingered four years, ashamed to return inglorious to 
France and unable to visit the holy sepulchre. 

Eighth Crusade, 1270. — A chimerical hope of converting the King 
of Tunis led Louis to the African coast. His army, 30,000 foot, and 
6000 horse, was composed of men of all nations; for English, Scots, 
Catalonians, Portuguese, and Castilians, fought under the same ban- 
ners with the French chivalry. The plague, however, soon appeared 
in the camp, which cut him off at the age of fifty-five, 1270. 

RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES. 

Des Michaels, examining the influences of the Crusades, classifies them 
under the following heads :— 

I. Immediate Effect. — Europe was saved from Turkish invasion at a period 
when she would have been ill able to resist it, although she purchased this 
benefit and short repose at a great price of blood and treasure. 

II. Effect on the Church. — The popes augmented their spiritual and temporal 
power. They brought under their supremacy the patriarchs of Antioch and 
Jerusalem, and strengthened the links of the hierarchy. 

III. Political Effect. — This was shown, 1st, Among the princes, who all, 
with the exception of the emperors, found means of enlarging their domains, 
and increasing their authority ; 2d, Among the nobility, who suffered in power 
and riches, but were gainers in honorary distinctions. The orders of knight- 
hood established in the East reflected their splendour over Europe and were 
imitated in all Christian states. Tournaments, a recent introduction, charmed 
the West by representing the exploits of the Holy War ; the combatants from 
beyond the seas came, to display, in the various courts, the magnificence of the 
East ; while coats of arms became necessary as distinctive marks, and family 
names were adopted and transmitted from sire to son. 

IV. Effect on Commerce and Industry .—The art of navigation made important 
progress', owing to the frequent voyages, to the great profits derived from them, 
and to the practices borrowed from the pilots of the Levant. By opening a 
wider field to speculation, and by facilitating exchange, commerce derived the 
same advantages as nautical science. Productions of nature and art, hitherto 
unknown in the West, brought new enjoyments, and called forth fresh industry. 
The maritime cities that engrossed the commerce of the East, attracted to them 
most of the wealth of Europe, and several of them became powerful republics. 
Hence the prosperity of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, of Barcelona and Marseilles. 
Hence, too, the wealth and activity of the Flemish towns, which served as 
the medium of exchange between the North and South, between the ports of 
the Mediterranean and the towns of the Hanseatic league. Agriculture was 
also greatly benefited by the introduction of the mulberry, Turkey-wheat, the 
sugar-cane, and other plants. 

V. Effect on Knowledge. — General civilisation was advanced by new inter- 
national relations, and the progress of science and literature. Ideas of honour 
and courtesy spread from chivalry into society generally, softening the public 



286 MIDDLE AGES. 

manners, and ennobling, in some respect, the enfranchised serfs, who were 
indebted for most of their wealth and liberty to the crusades. 

New and sublime subjects were laid open to poetic genius, which, however, 
rarely employed them with advantage. Still talent was honoured, and the 
warriors, not satisfied with encouraging the versifiers who celebrated their 
exploits, became their own bards. A peculiar character was impressed on 
poetry, and thus arose the romance of chivalry and the songs of the troubadours. 
Hence was breathed the first harmony into the various dialects of modern 
Europe. . 

The advances made by the sciences of geography, history, and medicine, were 
important in giving a new impulse to geographical research and adventure. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 



Greek Empire. — 1341, Cantacuzene. — 1355, Great Earthquake. — 1391, 

Manuel II. 
The East. — 1310, Knights of St. John at Rhodes.— 1326, Rise of the Ottoman 

Power —Janizaries. — 1370, Tamerlane. — 1389, Bajazet. — 1402, Battle of 

Angora. 
Germany.— 1315, Battle of Morgarten.— 1338, Union of Rense. — 1347, Charles 

IV. — 1356, Golden Bull. — 1378, Wenceslaus, Emperor. — 1386, Battle of 

Sempach. 
Italian Peninsula. — The Visconti. — 1320, Castruccio Castracani. — 1342, 

Joan I. — 1347, Rienzi. — 1355, Faliero expelled. — 1378, War of Chioggia. 
France. — 1302, Defeat at Courtray— Papal Quarrels. — 1307, Templars abol- 
ished — Salic Law. — 1346, Battle of Cressy ; 1356, of Poitiers. — 1358, The 

Jacquerie. — 1364, Charles V. 
Britain. — 1314, Battle of Bannockburn. — 1346, The Black Prince. — 1371, 

The Stuarts.— 1381, Wat Tyler.— 1399, House of Lancaster— Henry V. 
Spanish Peninsula. — 1340, Battle of Tarifa: Cannons first used. — 1350, 

Peter the Cruel. — 1368, Henry of Trastamare. — 1385, John of Portugal. 
Church. — 1360, John Wickliffe.— 1378, Great Schism of the West — Lollards 

— Bianchi. 
Inventions. — 1306, The Mariner's Compass — Linen Paper — Cannons. — 1330, 

Notes of Music— 1360, Metal-drawing; Pins.— 1380, Playing Cards— Gun- 
powder used. 
Literature, &c. — 1300, Cimabue ; 1336, Ghiotto, Painter. — 1321, Dante, 

Poet; 1343, Occam, Theologian; 1374, Petrarch, Poet; 1375, Boccacio, 

Novelist; Hafiz, Persian Poet; 1400, Chaucer, Poet; 1402, Gower, Poet; 

Froissart, Historian. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

A nation so degraded as the Greeks was unable to defend itself 
against the Turks, to repel whose attacks Andronicus II. hired 7000 
Catalonians, whom the reconciliation of the houses of Anjou and Aragon 
had left without employment ; but these mercenaries, uniting with the 
Turks, pillaged Thrace and Thessaly, and seized on the duchy of Athens, 
1312. Further, the knights of St. John wrested Cos, Rhodes, and 
several adjacent islands, from the Byzantine emperor. Internal dissen 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 287 

sions led to the dethronement of the sovereign by his grandson, Andronicus 
the Younger, 1328, under whom the abuses of the government increased. 
Bithynia was conquered by the Turks ; and his reign of thirteen years 
was imbittered by a declining popularity and a premature old age, the 
consequence of youthful excess. John Palaeologus, 1341, was left in 
his ninth year under the guaidianship of the regent Cantacuzene, who 
had the merit of restoring Lesbos and iEtolia to the empire. The 
intrigues of jealous courtiers led him to assume the imperial title. 
During six years the flames of civil discord burned with various success ; 
and while internal factions weakened the state, the barbarians were 
breaking through the whole line of the frontiers. The regent finally 
triumphed, but his reign was disturbed by faction ; and he descended 
from the throne to a cloister, 1355, when John resumed the purple. In 
this year a terrible earthquake shook most of the cities in South Rou- 
melia, — an event of which the Turks took advantage to seize on them, 
and to fortify Gallipoli and Zympe. Opposed on all sides by Chris- 
tians and infidels alike, the emperor besought the protection of the pope, 
and endeavoured to effect a union between the two churches. But this 
was unavailing against the victories of Amurath, to whom he became 
almost a tributary vassal, and the Greek empire was confined to a corner 
of Thrace between the Sea of Marmora and the Euxine, scarcely 1500 
miles square — Philadelphia, the last city held by the Greeks in Asia 
Minor, having been wrested from them in 1390. — Manuel II., 1391, 
who had served under Bajazet, preserved his military reputation by a 
lengthened struggle with his rival John of Selymbria. The threatening 
power and haughty summons of Bajazet led to an ignominious truce of 
ten years, in virtue of which the religion of Mohammed was tolerated in 
the Christian capital. 

THE EAST. 

Ottoman Empire. — Profiting by the weakness of the Seljukians of 
Iconium, many Turkish families had retired into the mountains of Asia 
Minor, where they formed several petty states, and preserved their war- 
like habits by continual inroads into the Greek territories. Amono- these 
was Othman, who, fixing his residence at Karahissar, extended his power 
into Bithynia; and his son Orcan, who succeeded him, 1326, having 
assumed the title of sultan, rapidly enlarged his dominions. Invited into 
Europe by one of the factions of the capital, the barbarians established 
themselves in the neighbourhood of Constantinople, whence they sub- 
dued the whole province from the Hellespont to Mount Haemus, 1360. 
Amurath I. at length reduced the Greek emperor to the ignominy of 
sending his four sons as hostages to the Ottoman camp. To him, or to 
his predecessor Orcan, the celebrated Janizaries owe their oricrin. 
Aware of the real superiority of the Europeans in warlike matters, he 
selected the stoutest of the Christian prisoners, and educated them in 
habits of martial discipline. This new militia was consecrated by a 
renowned dervise, who said, " Let them be called Janizaries — new sol- 
diers; may their hands be ever victorious, and their swords keen." 

Bajazet I., surnamed Ilderim, 1389, reigned fourteen years; and his 
rapid movements soon reduced to obedience all the country between the 
Euphrates and the Danube. At the battle of Nicopolis, 1396, he defeated 
Sigismond the king of Hungary, and the bravest knights of France and 



288 MIDDLE AGES. 

Germany, who had marched to the support of Europe and the church. 
It was the insolent boast of this proud army of 100,000 Christians, that 
if the sky should fall they could uphold it on their lances. The impe- 
tuousity of the French caused the loss of the day, and the lives of many 
of the most gallant soldiers. With savage cruelty Bajazet led out the 
prisoners, amounting to no fewer than 10,000, to be slaughtered in cold 
blood. The Duke of Burgundy was compelled to be a spectator of this 
inhuman massacre, which lasted from early morn till four o'clock, p. m. ; 
and then was only stopped by the intercession of some of the Moham- 
medan leaders. The siege of Constantinople was next meditated, but 
the sultan was compelled to defend himself against the formidable 
Tamerlane. The two armies met at Angora, 1402 : Bajazet was 
defeated and- made captive, and carried about in triumph, as some say, 
in an iron cage. 

Tamerlane. — Under the successors of Genghis Ki.an in the four- 
teenth century, the vices common to all Asiatic monarchies appeared. 
The provincial governors asserted their independence in 1355, and the 
dynasty of the Ilkhanians at Bagdad extended their authority to the 
Caspian Sea. At the same time, the khan's officers deprived him of his 
power, and governed the empire in his name. Lastly, the inroads of the 
Turkomans, and of the Mongol Khan of the Kaptschak, who several 
times entered Persia, but particularly those of Tamerlane, put an end 
to their dominion. This famous warrior was not distinguished in arms 
until the age of twenty-seven ; his youth having been passed in tending 
the flocks and herds of the family. At nineteen he became religious, 
and made a vow never to injure any living thing. His first adventures 
were the struggles upon which he entered to restore to independence his 
country, that had been invaded by the Calmucks. He ascended the 
throne of Zagatai, 1370 ; but before his death the crown of that kingdom 
was only one of fourteen that encircled his brows. Turkestan was sub- 
dued in 1383 ; Persia in 1393 ; and Eastern Tartary was invaded with a 
mighty army, whose front covered thirteen miles. Hindostan was 
assailed by 92,000 horsemen; and 10,000 prisoners, whom they took on 
their march, were all massacred. Delhi was captured and delivered up 
to an undisciplined soldiery ; and after a campaign of one year, Tamer- 
lane returned home. His designs of conquest were probably changed 
by the news he received of the ambitious projects of Bajazet. Quitting 
the banks of the Ganges, he marched against his rival ; Sebaste, on the 
borders of Anatolia was taken, and the garrison, consisting of 4000 
Armenians, buried alive. His incursions into Syria and Persia during 
the next two years enabled Bajazet to collect forces; and after various 
delays, the two armies met in the heart of the Ottoman empire. The 
result of the battle of Angora, 1402, did not disgrace the thirty years' 
experience of Tamerlane. Almost the whole of Asia was now in his 
hands, but while meditating a new design of vast extent, the reduction 
of Egypt and Africa, and the entrance into Europe by Gibraltar, death 
put a term to his conquests in 1405. With his life the glory of his 
empire faded, and, before the end of the fifteenth century, Transoxiana 
and Persia were trampled upon by their Turkoman neighbours. 

GERMANY. 
After the death of his rival Adolphus in 1298, Albert of Austria 



JOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 289 

»6oeived the imperial crown at Aix-la-Chapelle, notwithstanding me 
determined opposition of Boniface VIII., who, nevertheless, becoming 
reconciled, assisted him in placing on the throne of Hungary their com- 
mon friend, Carobert of Naples, 1308. The emperor next disposed of 
the Bohemian territory in favour of two of his sons, Rodolph and 
Frederick. But the states had already conferred the sovereignty on 
Henry of Carinthia, brother-in-law of the preceding king, Wenceslaus 
V. Albert, after making several vain efforts to support the rights of his 
own family, turned all the fury of his anger against the Swiss. 

Helvetic Confederacy. — The Swiss towns did not rise into import- 
ance before the twelfth century, nor did their country bear its present 
name. Part belonged to the duchy of Swabia ; part to the kingdom of 
Aries ; part to Burgundy ; and though all as a body were dependent on 
the empire, certain fiefs appertained to the house of Austria. At the 
end of the thirteenth century, the politic and enterprising Rodolph, with 
his son Albert, had obtained a great ascendency among them. The 
latter, however, was viewed with distrust, and his conduct in sending 
some imperial bailiffs as administrators of criminal justice, excited a 
brave and simple-minded people to insurrection. Stauffacher, Furst, 
and Melchthal united in the cause of liberty, and the cantons of Schweitz, 
Uri, and Unterwalden, which they represented, unanimously rose and 
expelled their oppressors in 1308. Tell, the son-in-law of Furst, having 
offended the bailiff Gessler by refusing to bow to a hat planted on a 
pole, was seized, and in violation of the privileges of his canton, placed 
in a boat to be carried across the lake. A storm having arisen, he was 
loosed from his fetters to navigate the vessel, when he found an oppor- 
tunity of effecting his escape. He shortly after met his enemy and shot 
him in a hollow way in 1307.* 

Leopold, duke of Austria, led a considerable force to reduce the pea- 
sants who had rebelled against his father ; but the battle of Morgarten, 
the Marathon of Switzerland, confirmed the independence of the three 
cantons, 1315. In this conflict a display of patriotic firmness occurred, 
not unworthy the best^days of ancient Rome. Fifty men, who had been 
banished from Schweitz, solicited permission to fight in defence of their 
native homes; the magistrates declined the offer, being unwilling to 
allow T the approach of danger to relax the ordinances of the state. But 
the exiles, though thus rejected, posted themselves on an eminence 
beyond the frontier of the canton, where they contributed to the victory 
of those by whom their services had been refused. They obtained from 
the gratitude of their country, what they had vainly sought from its fears, 
and were all restored. 

The battle of Sempach, in 1386, was the last in which Austria endea- 
voured to subdue those independent mountaineers. It was rendered 
illustrious by an heroic act, deserving to be ever remembered among the 
instances of generous self-devotion. When the confederates had been 
defeated in every attempt to break the line of the enemy, another Codrus, 
Arnold Struthan, knight of Unterwalden, cried to his countrymen that 
he would open a passage, desiring them to provide for his wife and 



*The authenticity of the romantic story of Tell and his son is very doubtful. Saxo 
Grammaticus, the Swedish historian, relates a precisely similar event, which happened 
to the Danish Toko, under Harold the Blue, king of Denmark, in the 10th century. 

25 



290 MIDDLE AGES. 

children, and to honour his race. Then throwing himself on the oppos- 
ing pikes, he grasped as many of them as he could, huried them in his 
bosom, and bore them to the ground, leaving a space open for the ad- 
vance of his companions. 

Before the middle of the century, the confederacy had been strength- 
ened by the addition of Lucerne, Zurich, Berne, Zug, and Glaris, com- 
posing the eight ancient cantons. Friburg, Appenzel, Soleure, Basle, 
and Schall'hausen, afterwards became part of the body ; and its inde- 
pendence was declared by the treaty of Basle in 1500. 

Seven months elapsed between the murder of Albeit and the election 
of Henry VII. of Luxemburg, 1308. In order to divert the attention of 
the princes of the empire, he endeavoured to re-establish the imperial 
power in Italy, which during sixty-four years had recognised no foreign 
authority. The factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines still distracted 
the country, though their objects were no longer the same, — the one 
contending for the emperor, the other for the pope. When Henry ap- 
peared in Italy, escorted by -2000 cavalry, all the signors presented them- 
selves before him, but they were compelled to resign into his hands the 
sovereignty which they had abdicated. After having assumed at Monza 
the crown of Lombardy, he received deputies and oaths of fidelity from 
all the cities. He died of poison administered in the consecrated wafer, 
1313. During this period Germany was at peace, but in the year pre- 
ceding Henry's death it was ravaged by a pestilence that carried off 
13,000 persons at Strasburg, 14,000 at Basle, and as many at Colmar. 
In some towns and cities not one man escaped. 

After an interregnum of fourteen months, two emperors were chosen : 
Frederick of Austria, the son of Albert, was crowned at Cologne, and 
Louis of Bavaria at Aix-la-Chapelle. The civil war which broke out 
between the two competitors, was terminated in 1322 by the victory at 
Muhldorf, which left Louis sole emperor. In 1328, he caused himself 
to be crowned king at Rome, not by the pope, who was always opposed 
to him, but by the prefect Sciarra Colonna and two excommunicated 
bishops; after which he solemnly proclaimed the deposition of John 
XXII. and proceeded to the election of another pope. The degraded 
pontiff with his successors Benedict XII. and Clement VI., from their 
place of exile at Avignon, did not cease to pursue his majesty with their 
anathemas. Wearied by such continued persecutions, Louis offered to 
resign his crown, but the electors opposed this resolution, and united at 
Rense for the preservation of the German independence against his holi- 
ness, and replied to the anathemas of Benedict XII. by the pragmatic 
sanction of Frankfort, 1338. By this act of firmness the papal court was 
only the more offended ; and Clement VI. persuaded the ecclesiastical 
electors and the Duke of Saxony to choose a new r emperor. Their choice 
fell on Charles of Luxemburg, margrave of Moravia, and eldest son of 
King John the Blind of Bohemia. The sudden death of Louis IV., in 
1347, gave the imperial crown to Charles IV. without a struggle. 

Golden Bull. — The emperor just named, like Louis XI. of France, 
showed how a monarch may rule without possessing any respectable 
qualities. His residence at Prague led to the embellishment of the city 
with public buildings, and his bull of 1355 terminated the disputes be- 
tween the electors. It was surnamed the golden, from the seal attached 
to it. Bartholus, the celebrated lawyer, drew up this charter, ^y which 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 291 

the prerogatives of the electoral coJleg< wer* finally ascertained. Their 
number was confined to seven ; the imperial elections were to be held at 
Frankfort, and the coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, the Archbishop of 
Cologne performing the ceremony. The electors were declared equal to 
kings, and conspiracy against them was made high treason. 

Charles twice visited Italy, where he sacrificed most of his imperial 
prerogatives, as he had already done in Germany. He was always 
King of Bohemia, and showed great wisdom in the government of his 
hereditary states. His reign is further remarkable for the foundation of 
the universities of Prague and Vienna, and for a persecution of the Jews, 
so atrocious as to require the interference of the pope to stop it. He 
was succeeded by his son Wenceslaus in 1378. 

The reign of Charles, it has been said, was an age of gold compared 
with that of his son. In Swabia and Franconia private hostilities were 
frequent; and the cities, from the necessity of preserving the public 
peace, formed various associations to protect themselves against the 
leagues of the nobles. An open war ensued between the two parties, 
and the corporations were defeated at the battles of Weil and Worms, 
1388. The emperor paid dearly for the secret influence which he had 
used in favour of the free cities : and in order to destroy him, his vicious 
pursuits, exaggerated beyond all probability, were everywhere made 
known. He had not a less difficult task in governing his Bohemian 
subjects; for he had undertaken to Germanize these ancient Sclavonians, 
and impose on them new laws and a new language. At length his peo- 
ple imprisoned him, 1393, and he was deposed in 1400. 

ITALIAN PENINSULA. 

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were a brilliant period, in which 
poetry, the letters, the arts, and internal improvement raised the Cisal- 
pine nations to an intellectual superiority, which has rarely been equalled ; 
while the political history of the same space presents little more than a 
labyrinth of petty facts, not less obscure than unimportant. Milan, Flo- 
rence, Genoa, and Naples, rose to eminence ; the pope consolidated his 
territorial sovereignty ; but the kingdom of Naples was a prey to the 
factions of Anjou and Aragon. By the end of the thirteenth century, the 
Ghibelline faction was everywhere proscribed ; and Charles of Anjou 
was constituted vicar-general of Tuscany. Robert, the third of the An- 
gevin kings of Naples, aspired to the sovereignty of all Italy, and before 
1318 his ambitious measures were generally successful. His death 
restored the republics to their former condition, but only to accept new 
masters ; for the Visconti of Milan gradually absorbed the rule of all the 
northern provinces. The marriage of Valentina with the Duke of Or- 
leans, 1389, led to protracted calamities in Italy at the beginning of the 
sixteenth century. During this period, their relations with the empire, 
though interrupted, were never entirely suspended. 

The decree of Rodolph, 1278, by which he resigned the imperial 
supremacy over all the dominions already granted to the Roman see 
was a leading epoch in the civil history of the papacy. The power of 
the bishops was not generally acquiesced in by the citizens, whose 
bosoms were animated with the recollection of ancient glories. Amok' 
of Brescia, a political heretic, had preached against the temporal juris 



.292 middle ages. 

diction of the hierarchy, in 1140. By his exhortations the republic was 
restored ; but his life was sacrificed to cement the union between the 
Emperor Barbarossa and Pope Adrian, 1155. The government of the 
senate lasted nearly fifty years ; when Brancaieone, a senator of Bologna, 
was elected to the supreme magistracy, 1-253. His rigour and inflexible 
justice were repaid' by the ingratitude of an unworthy people. The 
translation of the holy see to Avignon, 1305, left Rome a prey to the 
factions of her nobles. In every street was erected some stronghold ; 
each mansion became a castle ; an I the feuds of the Orsini and Colonna 
families were more fatal to the capital than the inroads of the barbarians. 

Rienzi. — Nicholas Rienzi, born of humble parents, was carefully 
educated, and from the study of the ancient classics had imbibed a deep 
veneration for the past glories of Rome. In 1342, he was named col- 
league of Petrarch in a deputation sent to solicit the return of Clement 
VI. Shortly after, he w T as appointed apostolic notary ; and, in 1347, he 
began the revolution he had long meditated.* He suspended in the 
public places various pictures emblematical of the misery and degrada- 
tion of the city, which he explained in the most animated manner. 
Favoured by the absence of Stephen Colonna,f he at length proclaimed 
that all should assemble on the eve of Whitsunday, in the church of 
St. Angelo, to provide for The Good State, the watchword of his party. 
There he assisted during the night at the masses of the Holy Spirit, 
that he might appear to act by inspiration of Heaven ; and then sallied 
forth bareheaded, attended by a hundred armed men. He was invested 
by acclamation with the necessary power for carrying his proposed regu- 
lations into execution, but contented himself with the title of tribune. 
The intemperance of prosperity soon betrayed the vices of his character, 
and precipitated his ruin, even in despite of the salutary influence of his 
government. Resolving to assume the order of knighthood, the unusual 
•eremonies he employed, such as bathing in the porphyry vase used at 
the baptism of Constantine, offended the superstition of the people. 
His victory over the nobles, who had united in defence of their lives 
and property, was the crisis of his fate, by the distress it caused to the 
inhabitants of Rome. A small force advanced to the capitol, in which 
he held his sumptuous residence, and forced him to leave the city after 
a government of seven months. He returned in a short time, invested 
with legitimate authority by the pope; but his administration of scarcely 
four months was terminated by assassination, in 1354. 

Genoa dates her commercial prosperity from the recovery of Con- 
stantinople, 1261. Owing to her convenient station at Galata, she long 
monopolized the commerce of the Euxine, and contested the dominion 
jf the Mediterranean with Venice. In a dispute with the Tartars it 
became necessary to blockade the Sea of Azoph, a proceeding which 
gave umbrage to the Venetians, and led to a war, in which Genoa was 
eventually successful, under the Admiral Paganino Doria. In 1378, 

*The author ofCorinne has drawn with a single stroke the character of Rienzi, Cres- 
centius, and Arnold of Brescia, qui out pris les souvenirs pour les esperances. The sub- 
sequent affairs of Rome are obscure ; the people appear to have continued the republican 
institutions till 13t)'2, when the legate of Innocent VI. was allowed to assume the govern, 
ment. 

tLike Brutus, Rienzi acted the buffoon, and the Colonnas used to invite him to their 
palace to furnish them with amusement, considering him as a mere fool, and of no im? 
portance. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 293 

the occupation of Tenedos by the Venetians, and the conquest of Cyprus 
by the Genoese, led to the war of Chioggia, The latter, defeated near 
the ruins of Antium, and victors before Pola, seized upon Chioggia; 
where Peter Doria rejected with contempt the submission of the Doge 
Contarini. But the tide of fortune turned, and the peace of Turin, in 
1381, which reconciled the two powers, was advantageous to neither. 
From this period Genoa was in continual revolution; between 1390 and 
1394, the doge was changed ten times; and the city was finally placed 
under the protection of a French garrison, 1401. 

Venice. — While this republic was extending her sway abroad by 
arms and commerce, she was limiting the power of the doge at home, 
and establishing an hereditary aristocracy that enabled the state to rise 
to the highest greatness. In 1339, she increased her territory on the 
Continent, by the conquest of the city of Treviso, and in 1355 executed 
Faliero for his attempts on the constitution. This doge had been raised 
to the ducal throne, 1354, at the age of 76. Jealous of the attractions 
of his young and beautiful wife, he was filled with unappeasable indig- 
nation at a scurrilous couplet written on his throne by a young noble- 
man, Michael Steno, and which reflected on the purity of his lady. He 
wished to make it a state crime, but the council sentenced the offender 
to a short imprisonment only. This drove the doge to extremities, and 
uniting with several discontented plebeians, he engaged in a conspiracy 
to massacre the whole of the oligarchy. The plot was discovered ; 
Faliero avowed his guilt, and was condemned to die. He was privately 
beheaded on the great staircase of the ducal palace, and the bloody 
sword was shown to the populace, with the proclamation, that justice 
had been executed on a great criminal. 

The honour of Venice was connected with the reign of the Latins at 
Constantinople, and the supremacy there of the Roman church; while 
Genoa, emulous of her fame, concluded an alliance with the Greeks, 
and assisted them materially in the recovery of their metropolis. Re- 
ligious disputes, as well as commercial and national prejudices, imbit- 
tered the contest between the two republics. The war of 1378 threaten- 
ed Venice with great misfortunes. The capital was blockaded by the 
possession of Chioggia, and the Genoese swore that a curb should be 
placed in the mouth of her wild horses. Necessity compelled the 
release of the Admiral Pisani from his prison. The canals were defend- 
ed by floating batteries ; private coffers were emptied ; gold and silver 
plate was melted down ; and a promise was made that thirty families 
should be ennobled for their exertions in this momentous crisis. Al- 
though the besiegers were in their turn besieged, the senate seriously 
thought of transporting themselves to Candia. Things were in this 
state when Carlo Zeno arrived laden with treasure from the Ligurian 
shores. But after some further struggles, the fortunes of Genoa sunk 
for ever, and the rivalry of 130 years was terminated by the superiority 
of Venice. The latter seized on Durazzo and Corfu in 1386, and the 
Polesina of Rovigo in 1395; and from that moment she did not cease 
to direct her ambition and arms towards the continent of Italy. 

Tuscany. — This rich country was still divided into nearly as many 

republics as cities, and the disputes of the Guelfs and Ghibellines raged 

with their wonted animosity. The latter would not have been able to 

maintain themselves much longer, but for the genius of Castruccio Cas» 

25* 



294 KIDDLE AGES. 

tracani, who was elected signor of Lucca in 1320. Uniting with Gale- 
azzo Visconti of Milan, he invaded the territory of the Florentines, and 
defeated their troops at the battle of Alto Pascio in 1325. But for the 
premature death of this warrior, the liberty of the Tuscan republics 
would have been endangered. 

Of all the Italian cities Florence was perhaps most distracted by rival 
factions, which, in turn victorious, unfeelingly proscribed their antago- 
nists. Thus was the great poet Dante expelled at the beginning of the 
fourteenth century by the Guelfs, and condemned to wander, until his 
death, through the towns of Tuscany and Romagna. The Blacks and 
the Whiles — for by this name did the Guelfs and Ghibellines distinguish 
themselves — promoted in no small degree the cause of the democracy. 
The former, guided by the Donati and controlled by the kings of Naples, 
were nearly alwa) r s predominant, and the administration was conse- 
quently of a popular form. Sometimes the power fell into the hands of 
the nobles; but the tyranny of Walter of Brienne in 1312 induced the 
state to adopt the democratic form of government. Its situation became 
then more critical than ever. Depopulated by pestilence in 1348, and 
afterwards besieged by the troops of John Visconti, it found safety in 
the devotion of the Guelf corporations of Sienna, Avizzo, Volterra, and 
Perugia. By such means the Florentines employed their power to 
maintain the union between these republics, and to withdraw them from 
the control of the French, and particularly of the pontifical legates. 
But they were themselves divided by the rivalry of the Greater and the 
Less Arts)* as well as by the aristocratic and popular factions, who 
renewed within the walls the bloody tragedies of the E_acks and the 
Whites, at the same time that Tuscany was ravaged by " the free com- 
pany," which the legate, Robert of Geneva, had brought to protect him, 
1376. About two years later, democracy prevailed at Florence, through 
the influence of the gonfalier Sylvester de Medici. 

Lombardy. — The grandson of Mastino della Scala, who had raised a 
durable power on the ruins of the house of Romano at Verona, obtained 
from the Emperor Henry VII., in 1312, the title of imperial vicar in the 
march of Treviso, as well as the signory of Vicenza. The republicans 
of Padua contested the government of that city ; but they themselves 
fell under the hereditary yoke of James Carrara in 1318. Mastino II., 
pursuing the ambitious designs of his father, extended his influence into 
Tuscany by the acquisition of Lucca, and menaced the independence of 
Florence, which was indebted for its safety to the Venetians. He 
aspired to the sovereignty of Italy; in this, however, he was opposed 
by the hostility of the Visconti and the policy of Venice. His family, 
after his death in 1351, gradually declined, and Antony, the last heir, 
was deprived of all his possessions by Galeazzo Visconti, who also 
took Padua from Francisco Carrara in 1388. This city, as well as 
Verona, fell into the hands of the Venetians in 1404. 

The Torriani succeeded in driving the Visconti from Milan in 1302; 
but they soon returned, and their leader, Matthew, engaged the former 



*The citizens exercising commeive were divided into twelve companies or arts. The 
seven, called the greater, were those of lawyers and notaries, wholesale dealers in foreign 
cloth, bankers or money-changers, woollen-drapers, physicians and druggists, dealers in 
silk, and furriers: the inferior arts, which were gradually increased to fourteen, were 
the retailers of cloth, butchers, smiths, shoemakers, and builders. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 295 

n a sedition in which the greater part of them perished, 1311. It was 
about the same period that Henry VII. conferred the title of Imperial 
Vicar of Lombardy on this chief, who contrived to make the office of 
signor hereditary in his family. His successors extended their power 
in Upper Italy by policy as much as by vigour of arms. John Galeazzo 

Visconti ruined the fortunes of the Scaligers, and united to his paternal 
estates all Lombard Italy from the Brenta to the Ticino : Verona, Vi- 
cenza, Padua, Bergamo, Brescia, Lodi, Cremona, Alexandria, Parma, 
Piacenza, Bologna, and Pisa, all nourishing cities, received under diffe- 
rent titles the laws of the signor of Milan. The kings of France courted 
his alliance, and in 1395, the Emperor Wenceslaus, for 100,000 florins, 
conferred on him the dignity of duke. 

Sicily and Naples. — Frederick of Aragon merited by his prudent 
administration the gratitude of his Sicilian subjects. Useful institutions, 
the encouragement of manufactures, an alliance with Henry VII., and 
afterwards with Louis IV., both enemies of the house of Anjou, dis- 
tinguished his reign of forty-one years, which terminated peaceably in 
1337, in spite of several excommunications by the holy see. His son, 
Peter II., filled the throne only five years. Under his successor Louis, 
peace was at length signed with Naples, and Joan I. renounced Sicily, 
Louis paying a tribute to the pope, 1347. But the domestic troubles 
which followed drove 10,000 inhabitants from the island, and forced the 
King of Naples to renew hostilities. Frederick III. succeeded in 
expelling the Neapolitans a second time, and the peace of 1372 left to 
their monarchs little more than the titular sovereignty of Sicily. 

During this time, Naples had been the theatre of bloody revolutions. 
Charles of Anjou was succeeded by Charles the Lame in 1285, who was 
followed by Robert the Good, 1309, by whom Sicily w r as unsuccessfully 
attacked. He was moie fortunate on the mainland, being nominated 
senator of Rome by the pope, and received by the Genoese as their 
signor. It was he who crowned Petrarch in the capitol in 1341. His 
daughter Joan, wife of Andrew the Hungarian, succeeded to the throne 
in 1343, commencing her disgraceful reign by the assassination of her 
husband, and then marrying Prince Louis of Tarentum. But the King 
of Hungary, Louis the Great, led an army to avenge his brother, and 
the country was devastated by war during several years, until the inva- 
der was recalled to his own states. Henceforward the court of Naples 
gave way to the grossest immoralities, though Joan finally expiated her 
crimes by a cruel death, being strangled by Charles of Durazzo. She 
left behind her the seeds of war by adopting Louis I. of Anjou in oppo- 
sition to the lineal heir. From this period began those struggles between 
the second Angevin family and the royal branch of Durazzo, which 
brought the French into Italy, and were the cause of a lasting enmity 
between the houses of France and Austria. Louis I. in 1383, and his 
son in 1390, invaded the kingdom, but were compelled to retire. 

FRANCE. 

Flemish War. — The peace of Montreuil allowed Philip IV. tt> 
resume his aggressions against Flanders. The count of that province 
was already his prisoner, and two of Philip's officers so oppressed the 
Flemings with unjust exactions, that they revolted, and having mur. 



296 MIDDLE AGES. 

dered the French residents, advanced to meet the royal army. At 
Courtray a most sanguinary engagement took place, in which the flower 
of the French chivalry perished," 1302. Two years after, Philip repaired 
this disaster by the victory of Mons-en-Puelle, while the Genoese in his 
service, under the command of Grimaldi and Philip of Rieti, destroyed 
the Flemish fleet at Zierikzee. These successes, however, were fol- 
lowed by no advantage, as his majesty was compelled to recognise the 
independence of the Flemings, 1305. 

Papal Quarrels. — Boniface VIII. was scarcely seated in the ponti- 
fical chair, before he resolved to extend the authority of the tiara; though 
he found in the King of France an adversary by no means inclined to 
give up any of his prerogatives. At first the intentions of the pope 
appeared favourable towards him ; but his holiness, wishing to interfere 
as mediator between France and England, employed language which 
highly incensed the French monarch, who, some time after, imposed a 
new tax on all his subjects, from which not even the priests were 
exempted. This measure did not create a breach; yet when the king 
had imprisoned Bernard Saisset, a turbulent bishop who pretended to 
have no superior except the pope, Boniface published that, celebrated 
bull Auscullajili, ordered by the other to be publicly burnt, and which 
was the cause of the first meeting of the three estates of the kingdom, 
1302. This assembly protested energetically against the superiority 
assumed by the holy see over the crown of France. In another assem- 
bly of barons and church dignitaries, Philip appealed to a future council 
against the anathemas of the pope; and William of Nogaret, his chan- 
cellor, accusing Boniface of heresy and simony, procured a sentence 
of imprisonment, to avoid which the pontiff fled to Rome, where he 
died in 1303. His successor Benedict XL, enjoying his exaltation only 
a few months, was followed by Clement V. who transferred the seat of 
the pontificate to Avignon, 1305. 

Templars abolished. — This distinguished order, which was esta- 
blished in 1118 by the patriarch of Jerusalem, consisted originally of 
eight or nine poor knights who dwelt in community near the site of the 
ancient temple. They voluntarily took on themselves the obligation of 
guarding the roads in the neighbourhood of the city, and of protecting 
the pilgrims from the infidels. Gradually their numbers and wealth 
augmented ; their mijitary services excited the gratitude of Christendom ; 
and in every nation legacies and lands successively increased the pos- 
sessions of the brotherhood. After being expelled from the Holy Land, 
they indulged in indolence and luxury, and were charged with the 
grossest crimes. Philip, having repeatedly denounced them to Clement 
V., at last ordered every member within his dominions to be arrested. 
Fifty-nine of the noblest were burnt at Paris in 1309 ; and numbers in 
other parts of France also became victims.* 

The result of the trials, which lasted three years, acquits the order, 
however it may condemn a few individuals. A bull was published by 
the council of Vienne, 1312, transferring their property to the knights 
hospitallers of St. John, who had just achieved the conquest of Rhodes. 

* In Castile the templar? were imprisoned only; in Aragon they existed some time 
longer; in Portugal they were incorporated withthe order of Christ; in Germany they 
were acquitted of all charges ; while in England and Ireland they were kept in honour- 
able but safe custody. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 297 

Salic Law. — Philip IV., dying in 1314, left three sons — Louis 
Hutin, Philip the Long, and Charles the Fair — who successively- 
reigned. Louis survived his father less than two years, leaving one 
daughter, and his queen on the point of giving birth to another child. 
In his reign there was a violent reaction against the royal despotism. 
Louis was obliged to accord to the barons of the north and centre of 
France the rights of local sovereignty to which they had laid claim ; 
and further confirmed the privileges enjoyed by many municipal cities. 
He also permitted the return of the Jews, who had been expelled by his 
predecessor, and, declaring that all Frenchmen should be free, allowed 
the serfs of the royal domains to purchase their liberty. 

Philip now assumed the regency, and availing himself of the peculiar 
state of affairs, procured the ratification of the Salic law by the assembly 
of Paris, 1317, and seized the royal sceptre. French writers assert that 
he ascended the throne "of right" — the exclusion of females being a 
fundamental maxim of their government ; but the text of the Salic law 
sanctions no such opinion, and it is only from this period that the usurpa- 
tion carries with it the air of legal authority. Philip left four daughters, 
and Charles IV. ascended the throne in 1322 ; his daughters also being 
excluded by Philip of Valois, 1328. Edward III. of England now 
advanced a claim to the French crown, which gave rise to a struggle of 
one hundred and twenty years — the evils of which were increased in 
both countries by domestic disturbances in the intervals of the war. 
Edward maintained that, although females were excluded from the suc- 
cession, their male issue might succeed, and hence that his mother 
Isabella might transfer her title to him. France at thie period was an 
extensive and compact monarchy, and deemed so powerful that Pope 
Benedict XII. wrote an urgent letter, dissuading the English monarch 
from taking the style and arms of that kingdom, and showing the im- 
possibility of his ever succeeding in establishing his claim. But in the 
course of twenty years, courage and military skill compelled that nation 
to submit to an ignominious peace, and to cede several provinces. The 
battles of Cressy, 1346, Poitiers, 1356, and Agincourt, 1415, in spite 
of the great disparity of forces, manifested l*ie high martial qualities that 
distinguish the English soldiery. 

The cruelties of the Count of Flanders having created fresh discontent 
among his subjects, a sedition broke out at Ghent which rapidly spread 
over the whole province. James Von Artaveldt, a brewer, was the 
leader of the revolt, and proposed to Edward III. to assume the title of 
king of France, in order that the Flemings might join his ranks with- 
out violating the feudal laws. War between the two monarchs now 
became inevitable ; the earlier operations were not very favourable to 
Edward, who, notwithstanding the defeat of the French fleet, was unable 
to take Tournay. The hostilities, which were suspended by a year's 
truce, were once more resumed in 1341. 

John III., duke of Brittany, left the duchy to his niece, who had mar- 
ried Charles, count of Blois, and nephew of Philip of Valcis ; though 
the Earl of Montfort, brother of the last duke, was the popular candidate. 
Philip sent an army to instal the new prince, and Montfort, who had 
been made prisoner at Nantes, was unable to profit by the succour 
which Robert of Artois brought to him from England. Shortly after- 
wards his competitor also was captured, and the struggle continued 



298 MIDDLE AGES. 

twenty years longer, until the treaty of Guerande assigned the dukedom 
to the house of Montfort. 

Cressy. — The French and English did not long confine themselves 
to opposing each other in the duchy ; the execution of Oliver de Clisson, 
and several other Breton nobles devoted to the court of Edward, led to a 
rupture of the truce. This prince suddenly landed in Normandy, ad- 
vanced to Paris, and burnt St. Cloud, spreading everywhere terror and 
desolation. The approach, however, of an army of 100,000 men forced 
him to retreat towards Flanders, when he was opposed at Cressy, 26th 
August, 1346, and compelled to fight a battle, in which 30,000 French, 
besides one king, eleven princes, and 1200 knights, were left dead on 
the field. Next year Calais surrendered to the English monarch. 

Pope Clement VI., grieved at the misery of the inhabitants, wh«m 
the war, with its frequent attendants famine and pestilence, was afflict- 
ing, interposed between the belligerents, and procured a truce which 
lasted until 1355. Philip, who died in 1350, had enlarged his domin- 
ions by the addition of Montpellier, purchased from the King of Majorca 
at the price of 200,000 crowns, and of Dauphiny, ceded by Humbert 
II. Henceforward the eldest son of the French monarch bore the title 
of dauphin, from this province. 

The prerogatives of the throne had so greatly increased that the 
sovereign no longer thought it necessary to rid himself of his enemies 
by judiciary processes. Thus John II., who succeeded in 1350, put to 
death the Constable d'Eu, whom he suspected of corresponding with 
Edward III., and somewhat, later he beheaded Count Harcourt, and im- 
prisoned the King of Navarre. In former reigns the whole of the 
nobility would have risen in arms; but the great barons, now almost 
extinct, were replaced by poor nobles, most of whom received the royal 
pay. The necessity of keeping up a large army, and of maintaining 
the knights who followed the king's banner, had so deranged the finan- 
ces, principally through the ill-judged means devised for raising money, 
that it was found necessary to summon the states-general of the langue 
d'oil to meet in Paris for the purpose of levying a subsidy, The depu- 
ties of the three orders voted a sum of 5,000,000 of livres, and 30,000 
men at arms. The necessary funds were raised by the gabelle and a 
tax upon the sale of merchandise. In return for these sacrifices, the 
representatives required a fixed standard of coinage and the reform of 
many abuses, 1355. 

While the estates were endeavouring to secure their political rights, 
Edward III. ravaged Picardy, and his son, the Black Prince, devastated 
the provinces beyond the Loire. Against the latter, King John march- 
ed with an army of 60,000 men, and came up with him at Maupertuis, 
near Poitiers, 19th September, 1356. Regarding the small band of 
8000 islanders as already his prisoners, he charged them with thought- 
less impetuosity, and the result was a frightful carnage of his own 
troops. The dauphin was one of the first to flee, leaving in the midst 
of the enemy his father, who was valiantly defended by his fourth son 
Philip, a youth scarcely fifteen years of age. He was, however, taken 
and carried to England, where he shared the captivity of the Scottish 
monarch, David II. 

The Jacquerie. — During John's detention, France was a prey to 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 299 

every calamity. The ruler of Navarre had taken the field against his 
sovereign, the capital was in sedition, pestilence was consummating- the 
work of hunger and the sword, and to crown all, the Jacquerie broke 
out in 1358. The peasantry {Jacques bun homme, the cant phrase appli- 
ed to them) furious at the ill treatment received from their superiors, 
flew to arms, and laid waste the whole country, murdering every person 
who refused to join them. Two hundred castles were burnt and their 
inhabitants massacred ; but the nobles soon retaliating, the cruelties of 
the free companies deluged France with blood. Subdued by these 
heavy misfortunes, the regent, afterwards Charles V., concluded a peace 
in 1360;* by which Guienne, Gascony, Poitou, Saintonge, the Limou- 
sin, and Angoumois, with Ponthieu and Calais were ceded in full sove- 
reignty to the English, who were also to receive for the king's ransom 
three millions of gold crowns. In 1364, Charles V. succeeded his 
father, whose death occurred in London, whither he had returned to sup- 
ply the place of one of the royal hostages who had escaped to Paris. 
The war was resumed in 1368 by Charles, on the ground that treaties 
found unfavourable to the public service ought not to be kept ! French 
historians give a specious account, which tends to throw the blame of 
the rupture on the English king; but however ambitious Edward may 
have been, his reputation is unblemished by bad faith. He and his son 
being in declining health, were, unable to contend against the valour of 
Du Guesclin. Hence in a few campaigns they lost the whole of their 
conquests; yet the war was always popular in England, although that 
country, scarcely to a less degree than France, was weakened by internal 
discord. 

Charles continued his victorious career; and while the French fleet 
was ravaging the English coasts, all that remained of Edward's acqui- 
sitions were Bordeaux, Bayonne, Rochelle, Brest, and Calais. The 
monarch dying in 1380, the fruits of this temporary success were lost 
by France in the succeeding reign; and during the forty-two years that 
Charles VI. was on the throne, his kingdom was reduced to a state 
nore deplorable than in the time of John's captivity. The Maillotins 
— the rabble using clubs armed with lead — treated Paris as a place 
taken by storm : dreadful executions succeeded, and many persons were 
put in sacks and thrown by night into the Seine. The insanity of the 
king, in 1393, placed the government in the hands of the Duke of Bur- 
gundy, not without opposition from the Duke of Orleans, who at last 
succeeded in obtaining the entire management of affairs. But his dis- 
solute conduct, and the excessive taxes he imposed, rendered him quite 
odious. 

BRITAIN. 

Edward II., 1307, at once effeminate and timid, and entirely governed 
by favourites, was unable to carry out the warlike projects of his father. 
The companion of his youth was Piers de Gaveston, a brave and hand- 
some cavalier, who was celebrated for his feats in the tournament. He 
was created Earl of Cornwall, appointed a lord of the bedchamber, and 
married to one of the king's nieces. Indignant at tht, favours lavished 

* Edward was induced to consent to the treaty of Bretigny, by the impression which 
a tremendous storm, deemed by him a special admonition from heaven, had made upon 
his mind. 



300 MIDDLE AGES. 

upon this minion, the English nobles insisted on his banishment. 
Having- retired to Ireland, he soon after returned, and it was not until 
the parliament in 1310 made his exile the condition of certain subsidies, 
that he again left the island. But shortly after he revisited England, 
jpon which the barons flew to arms, attacked his place of refuge, and, 
making him prisoner, beheaded him at Warwick castle. The mediation 
of France now became necessary to restore harmony, which was effected, 
at least in appearance, between Edward and his people. The unfortu- 
nate Gaveston was succeeded by Hugh Despenser, whose earliest ob- 
ject was to bring Pembroke to the scaffold, as being the cause of his 
predecessor's ruin. 

While these events were occurring in the south, King Robert Bruce 
was steadily gaining ground in Scotland. The principal cities had 
fallen into his hands ; and the strong fortress of Stirling was closely 
invested, when Edward II. marched to its relief with 100,000 men. To 
oppose him, Bruce collected a force of 30,000, and the complete rout 
which the English sustained in the battle of Bannockburn, 21th June 
1314, secured the independence of his country. Edward Bruce, brother 
of the renowned warrior, crossed to Ireland, with the view of delivering 
that island from the English yoke; but after various successes, and 
receiving the title of king, he was defeated and slain, 1318. 

Meantime, famine was desolating England, and the popularity of the 
king diminished as that of his nephew, the Earl of Lancaster, increased. 
Indeed, so disgusted were the people with the vices of their ruler, that 
they universally revolted ; and Edward could only appease them by 
granting all their demands. In a subsequent rising, the royal lieuten- 
ants were able to withstand the rebels ; and their leader, Lancaster, was 
taken and beheaded, along with a number of his partisans, in 1322. 
This year was further remarkable for the inroads of King Robert Bruce 
into Yorkshire, and a successful battle he fought at Boroughbridge. A 
more imminent danger, however, menaced Edward from the Pembroke 
party, which grew so formidable as to make open war upon him; when 
the two Despensers, father and son, were captured and put to an igno- 
minious death. The chief instrument in this revolution was the queen, 
Isabella, a princess remarkable for her beauty, but inheriting her father's 
cruel disposition. When she found the two favourites monopolizing all 
influence with the king, she crossed the sea to Flanders, and raised an 
army, with which she returned, and deposed Edward, who was impri- 
soned in Berkeley Castle, where he was put to death in the most bar- 
barous manner in 1327. 

Edward III. inherited the active and warlike spirit of his grandfather. 
In 1331, he caused the queen-mother and her paramour, Mortimer, earl 
of March, to be arrested ; the latter was executed, and Isabella ended 
her days in prison. The chief complaints against Mortimer, were the 
conclusion of peace with Scotland, and giving the king's sister in mar- 
riage to its monarch, David Bruce. The claims of Edward Balinl to the 
Scottish crown led to a war. in which the English army gained a vic- 
tory at Halidon Hill in 1333. 

Battle of Sluys, 1310. — Edward, in returning from England to 
Flanders, was intercepted by a numerous fleet which Philip had moored 
in four lines across the mouth of the harbour at Sluys. These ships 
were provided with turrets filled with stones on their mast-heads, anr 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 301 

Were fastened to each other with strong chains. Having the wind and 
tide in his favour, Edward gallantly bore down on the first line ; and 
after an obstinate contest, prolonged to midnight, only a few stragglers 
escaped. With these exceptions, the whole flotilla, of more than 200 
sail, remained in the hands of the English, who lost but two vessels, 
while the slain and drowned of the enemy exceeded 20,000. History 
does not present an instance of a naval victory more complete or more 
sanguinary. The French ministers dared not inform their royal mas- 
ter of the calamity, which was first hinted to him by a buffoon who 
called the English cowards; and when the king asked his reason, 
replied, because they had not the courage to leap into the sea, like the 
French and Normans. 

Cressy and Poitiers. — Hostilities with France were recommenced 
for the succession to the throne, — Edward claiming the crown as the son 
of Isabella, in opposition to Philip de Valois, who was heir in the male 
line. By the help of his gallant son, the Black Prince, he reduced the 
power of France to a very low ebb. The war which broke out in 1339, 
was continued with various success till 1346, when the celebrated battle of 
Cressy was fought, in which, as just noticed, 30,000 English under Ed- 
ward defeated 100,000 French under Philip, with the loss of 30,000 men, 
besides many of the nobility, 1200 knights, and 1400 esquires. The impor- 
tant city of Calais was invested, and taken the next year ; and a long truce 
succeeded, during which Europe was ravaged by a dreadful plague. In 
1356, the war was renewed, under Edward the Black Prince, "that 
young Mars of men." With an army of 8000, he defeated, at Poitiers, 
King John with 60,000, and made him prisoner. France was now com- 
pletely at the victor's mercy ; and the treaty of Bretigny was concluded 
in 1360. The terms of this peace were, the ransom of the king for three 
millions of golden crowns, and the cession to England in full sovereignty 
of a great part of the conquered territory. The declining age of Edward, 
however, and the disordered health of the prince were visible in the suc- 
ceeding campaigns, during which the sons of those who had fallen at 
Poitiers recovered nearly all their fathers had lost, except Bordeaux, 
Bayonne, Calais, Brest, and Cherbourg. 

The Prince of Wales died in 1376, in the forty-sixth year of his age, 
leaving behind him a character without blemish, and exciting a degree 
of sorrow which time could not alleviate. His father followed him 
about a year after, deserted by his courtiers, even by those who had 
grown rich on his bounty. This great king confirmed Magna Charta 
no less than fifteen times. In his reign the House of Commons first met 
annually ; the parliament assumed the right of trying ministers of the 
crown; and decided cases of high treason, which had been hitherto left 
to the arbitrary decision of the judges. Edward encouraged trade, and 
above all that in wool, the main source of the riches of the kingdom ; he 
protected letters, and conferred many privileges on the university of Ox- 
ford. The order of the Garter was instituted by him in 1347 : its origin 
is involved in obscurity. 

About this period the distinction between the Normans and Saxons 
began to disappear, and they gradually formed an undivided people, 
having one language and the same manners. To efface the last traces 
of the Conquest, the king forbade the use of the French language in legal 
proceedings and deeds, though enjoined by law. 
26 



302 MIDDLE AGES. 

The feeble reign of Richard II., son of the Black Prince, commenced 
in 1377. One of its remarkable events was the march of the Earl of 
Buckingham, at the head of 10,000 men, through the heart of France. 
Such was then the terror of the English name, that the Duke of Bur- 
gundy, with a much superior force, would not hazard a battle. Thirty 
years of respite from war, and an almost friendly intercourse between 
•he two nations, now succeeded.* Richard was only eleven years of 
age when he ascended the throne; the guardianship was disputed by 
his three uncles, the Dukes of York, Lancaster, and Gloucester, whose 
quarrels dissipated the finances of the kingdom, already deranged by the 
w r ars of the preceding reign. New taxes were imposed, and the arbitrary 
manner in which they were levied gave rise, in 1381, to a revolt, headed 
by Wat Tyler : he rallied around him the people of Essex, whoso 
loyalty had already been shaken by the discourses of John Ball, a priest 
of Kent. A hundred thousand rebels marched to London; but the 
death of their leader and the treacherous professions of the young mo- 
narch restored order. The amnesty and charter promised by him were 
soon forgotten, and the people were more oppressed than before. 

The war against Scotland was renewed, although without success ; 
when the king, despairing of the submission of its inhabitants, abruptly 
relinquished his enterprise, 1385; and Robert II. was able peacefully 
to transmit to his descendants the succession to a throne, which, how- 
ever, proved to them very fruitful in misfortunes, f 

Returning from his Scottish expedition, Richard aimed at absolute 
power, and fell under the influence of princes and favourites who op- 
pressed the people in his name. By a treaty with France in 1395, it 
was stipulated that he should marry Isabella, the daughter of Charles 
VI., and surrender the ports of Cherbourg and Brest. This latter con- 
dition was extremely unpopular ; severe punishments checked discontent 
for a season; but, during his absence in Ireland, whither he had gone to 
quell a revolt, Henry, duke of Lancaster, quitted his exile in France, 
and landed in Yorkshire, whence he marched to the capital. The king, 
being deserted by his army, was forced to resign the crown, which 
the parliament conferred on Lancaster, in 1399. The manner of Rich- 
ard's death in Pontefract castle, is variously related : some attributed it 
to grief, others to assassination or hunger. 

Gkeat Pestilence, 1348. — A succession of earthquakes convulsed Europe 
from Poland to Calabria; and although England escaped this calamity, it was 
deluged with incessant rain from June to December. In August the plague 
appeared in Dorsetshire, whence it gradually extended to the north of the 
island. Many of its victims expired in six hours ; few lingered beyond three 
days. All the cemeteries of London were soon filled, — one burial-ground alone 



* At the coronation of Richard II. we first meet with a ceremony which was repeated 
at that of the English kings till the reign of William IV. : An officer called the King's 
Champion, clad in mail, rides into Westminster Hall, and by his herald proclaims" a 
challenge in defence of the monarch's title to the crown. Baker, in his Chronicles, says 
that " Sir John Dymock and Sir Baldwin Freville both claimed the office of king's cham- 
pion, but it was adjudged to the former," in whose family it is now hereditary. 

fThis race of monarchs was particularly unfortunate :— James I. was kept a prisoner 
in England nineteen years: he was murdered at Perth in 1437. James II. perished at 
the age of twenty-nine by the bursting of a cannon at the siege of Roxburgh castle, 
1460 ;— -James III., after being defeated by rebels, was assassinated, 1488; — James IV. 
perished at Flodden, 1513;— Queen Mary was beheaded after being imprisoned nineteen 
years, 1587;— Charles I., her grandson, perished on the scaffold, 1649; — James II. was 
driven from his kingdom, 1688, and died in exile. 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 303 

receiving 200 bodies daily during several weeks. Its ravages were, however, 
principally confined to the lower orders. From man the pestilence extended to 
the brute creation. 

SPANISH PENINSULA. 

Castile. — The long minority of Alphonso XI., 1312, was disturbed 
like that of his father by the rivalries of the houses of Lara and Haro ; 
but so soon as he assumed the reins of government himself, he vigor- 
ously repressed all domestic troubles, and, uniting Portugal to Aragon, 
gained a brilliant victory over the Moors in 1340. Unfortunately he 
died of the plague at the very moment he was about to inflict the most 
deadly blow on the Saracenic power. 

Pedro the Cruel, 1350. — This prince began his reign with the mur- 
der of Leonora de Guzman, his father's mistress. His own wife, Blanche 
of Bourbon, being committed by him to the custody of the uncle of Maria 
de Padilla, a lady whom he had secretly married, soon perished by poi- 
son. Such was his unexampled tyranny, that the arbitrary conduct of 
his predecessors, Sancho and Alphonso, was quite forgotten. The nu- 
merous fugitives from his despotic cruelty found refuge in Aragon; 
thence, with Henry of Trastamare, the son of Leonora, at their head, 
they were driven into France. Aided by the celebrated Bertrand du 
Guesclin, an army of 30,000 men was soon raised from the free compa- 
nies, and by their help Pedro was dethroned without a blow, 1366. The 
tyrant escaped to Bordeaux, where he threw himself at the feet of Ed- 
ward the Black Prince, who undertook to avenge his wrongs, and 
marched into Spain at the head of 30,000 men. The road lay through 
the valley of Roncesvalles, the scene of the fabulous exploits of the 
renowned Orlando. It was then the depth of winter; the snow beat in 
the faces of his troops, while to cold and fatigue was added the want of 
provisions in a barren and mountainous district. The two armies met 
in the plains between Navarete and Najera — Henry having more than 
100,000 men under his banners, while the army of the Black Prince 
scarcely amounted to one-third of that number. Victor}^ favoured the 
cause of Pedro, and Trastamare was compelled to flee, 1367. Two 
years after, during the siege of Montiel, the two brothers met by chance 
in the tent of a French knight: they immediately grappled ; Pedro threw 
Henry on the floor, but in the struggle was despatched by the poniard 
of his adversary. 

Henry II., the first of the house of Trastamare, now succeeded to the 
throne, and governed during a brief and fortunate period. He had to 
contend against the Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III. of England, 
vvho had married Constance, daughter of Pedro the Cruel; Granada, 
Portugal, and Navarre, being also opposed to him. He defeated the 
Portuguese fleet in 1370, and next year that of the English before Ro- 
chelle; and, dying in 1379, left his crown to John I., who espoused 
Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand of Portugal, stipulating that her chil- 
dren should succeed to the throne of that kingdom. The Portuguese 
attached little importance to this arrangement, which sacrificed their 
independence; and, when Ferdinand died, their choice fell upon John, 
son of Pedro the Justiciary. Upon this the Castilian sovereign imme- 
diately commenced hostilities, but was unsuccessful, being once driven 
by pestilence from before the walls of Lisbon, and at another time de- 



304 MIDDLE AGES. 

feated before the walls of Aljubarotta. At the same time, the Duke of 
Lancaster made a descent at Corunna, and was proclaimed king 1 at San- 
tiago de Compostella; his farther progress was, however, prevented by 
Ireaty. 

Henry III. was only twelve years of age when he succeeded his 
father, John I. The regency had been disturbed, as usual, by civil strife, 
which was suppressed when the king assumed the government in 1393. 
He abolished the enormous pensions which had been granted to various 
members of his family during his minority, deprived them of the strong- 
holds to which they had retired, and reduced them to submission. The 
Portuguese, who had surprised Badajoz, were defeated ; and the pirates 
of Tctuan were attacked and dispersed in 1400. Encouraged by these 
successes, Henry planned a war against the Moors, but he died in 1 106, 
leaving an infant son fourteen months old. 

Aragox. — James II., by the conquest of Sardinia in 1325, was recom- 
pensed for the loss of Sicily ; this acquisition, however, involved the 
country in a series of wars with Genoa, which occupied the whole of 
the reign of Alphonso IV. Pedro the Great, who succeeded in 1336, 
maintained the possession of Sardinia, and united the Balearic Isles to 
his dominions, wresting them from James III., a prince of a younger 
branch of his own house. In alliance w T ith Venice, he defeated the 
Genoese near Algheri in 1353, and shortly after aided Henry of Trasta- 
inare to win the crown of Castile. His son, John I., 1386, continued 
the war against the Genoese with success ; and at his death, in 1394, 
he bequeathed his kingdom to his brother Martin, with whom terminated, 
in 1410, the house of Barcelona, which had reigned 273 years. 

Portugal. — Dionysius, surnamed the Just, founded the university of 
Coimbra, and encouraged agriculture, as well as the sciences, and 
navigation, and commerce. He was succeeded in 1325 by Alphonso 
IV. the Bold, who caused the assassination of Inez de Castro, whom 
his son had privately married. Pedro I. succeeded to the throne of his 
father in 1357; and his earliest object was to punish the cruel assassins 
of his unfortunate and beloved wife. His useful laws and economical 
expenditure made his loss generally deplored, 1367. The extinction of 
the legitimate line of Alphonso I. in 1383, in the person of Ferdinand 
I., was followed by an interregnum of eighteen months. Ferdinand 
nad left one child, an illegitimate daughter, Beatrice. Desirous of 
placing her on his throne, he united her at an early age to John of Cas- 
tile, 1382, and bequeathed the sceptre to their issue. At his death, 
which happened soon after, Don John, his natural brother, took advan- 
tage of the jealousies of the two provinces, and seized on the crown. 
The Castilian king upon this laid siege to Lisbon; failing, however, in 
his attacks, the cortes, in the year 1385, elected Don John, by whom 
the country was soon cleared of invaders. 

THE CHURCH. 

Great Schism. — Boniface VIII., who succeeded to the tiara in 1294, 
was the last of the great popes, the heirs, so to speak, of Gregory VII. 
He proposed to complete the mighty work of his predecessors by sub- 
jecting all the kings of the earth to the pontifical authority ; but at the 
end of the thirteenth century the condition of the world had greatly 



FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 305 

changed, for society was beginning to emerge from feudal anarchy, 
under the shield of a power capable of maintaining public peace. Even 
in the darkness and confusion of the ninth century, the papacy had 
failed in its enterprises. It was therefore to no purpose that, at the 
beginning of the fourteenth, Boniface, in the council held at Rome, 
1302, composed the famous decretal Unam Sandam, which asserts that 
the temporal power is inferior to the spiritual, and that the pope has the 
right of appointing, correcting, and deposing sovereigns. Philip the 
Fair, against whom this was manifestly aimed, replied by accusing the 
pontiff of heresy, simony, and other crimes, — a charge which is said to 
have caused the death of his holiness. The dispute, however, was 
amicably settled by his successor in 1303. The residence of the 
supreme pontiff was now transferred from Italy to France ; and Cle- 
ment V. made Avignon the capital of the papacy. This " Babylonish 
captivity," as it was derisively called, lasted seventy-two years. On 
the decease of Gregory XL, in 1378, two popes were elected: Urban 
VI. was acknowledged by the greater part of the empire, also by Bohe- 
mia, Hungary, and England ; Clement VII. was recognised as legiti- 
mate in France, Spain, and Scotland. The former resided at Rome, 
the latter at Avignon. This great schism of the West lasted fifty-one 
years : it was extinguished by the abdication of Clement VIII. in 1429. 

TABLE OF POPES DURING THE GREAT SCHISM. 

1378. Urban VI. 1378. Clement VII. 

1389. Boniface IX. 1394. Benedict XIII. 

1404. Innocent VII. 
1406. Gregory XII., de- 
posed and replaced by 
409. Alexander V. 
1410. John XXIII. {Three popes instead of two). 

This dispute was terminated by the council of Constance, in 1414, 
which deposed the three popes, Gregory, John, and Benedict, and con- 
ferred the papacy on 

1417. Martin V. 1424. Clement VIII. (antipope.) 

About 1360, Wickliffe began to expose the corruption of the clergy, 
which paved the way for the Reformation in England. Twenty years 
afterwards, he made known to the people the records of divine truth, by 
the first English translation of the Bible. It was now that more for- 
cibly than ever he raised his powerful voice against the doctrine of tran- 
substantiation ; and above all, he boldly declared that the Sacred Scrip- 
tures alone are the sole foundation of our belief. His followers, by 
way of reproach, were termed " Lollards."* 

The Flagellants. — This sect, which appeared during the great pestilence 
of 1348, imagined that scourging was the only means of procuring a remission 
of the divine punishment. It originated in Hungary, and gradually spread over 
the central parts of Europe : it was excluded from France, but reached Eng- 
land in 1349. 

The Bianchi. — In the summer of 1399, a sect of fanatics suddenly arose in 
Italy called Bianchi, from the long white garments they wore. Their faces 
were covered with a veil, that they might not be known. They walked in 

* A word of doubtful origin : probably from Walter Lollard, a German, 1315 ; or from 
Lutlards or Lollards, the praisers of God, a sect thus named in Brabant, 1309. 
26* 



306 MIDDLE AGES. 

procession from town to town, following a large crucifix, and chanting that 
beautiful hymn of the Romish church, " Stabat mater dolorosa." They 
restricted themselves to bread and water. A remarkable although transient 
reformation of manners has been ascribed to their influence. They were 
opposed by the pope, and strictly prohibited both in -France and England. The 
founders of this sect are said to have come from Britain ; and their description 
corresponds to a certain extent with that of the itinerant priests in 1382. 

INVENTIONS, &c. 

The Mariner's Compass. — In this century many new inventions, by 
seconding the exertions of genius, accelerated the progress of knowledge and 
civilisation. The chief of these were the construction of the mariner's compass, 
and the manufacture of linen paper. The Chinese were acquainted with the 
polarity of the magnetic needle so early as 1121 ; and they assign the invention 
of the compass to 1108 b. c. This instrument was probably introduced into 
Europe by the Saracens ; but only came into general use at the end of this 
century. The pretensions of Flavio Gioia of Almafi have been long detected ; 
indeed it is doubtful if such a person ever existed. A more fearless spirit of 
maritime adventure soon arose, and its fruits in the next century were the dis- 
covery of the New World. 

Linen Paper. — The revival of learning in the fourteenth century called for 
cheaper materials than the parchment in general use. Paper made from cotton 
appears to have been known as early as 1100. The Arabians assert that cotton 
paper had been manufactured at Samarcand in the eighth century, the method 
having been introduced from China. Though' linen paper was very little known 
till the latter part of the fourteenth century, it is an unreasonable scepticism to 
doubt its use in the West in the middle of the thirteenth. Pace da Fabiano of 
Treviso is said to have been its inventor ; but subsequent researches place him 
in the same rank of fabulous persons, as Flavio Gioia and the monk Schwartz. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 



Greek Empire and the East. — 1402, Invasion of Tamerlane — Mohammed I. 
— 1425, John Pala?ologus — Huniades and Scanderbeg. — 1448, Constantine 
Palaeologus. — 1451, Mohammed II. — 1453, Constantinople taken by the 
Turks. — 1480, Siege of Rhodes — Bajazet II. 

Germany. — 1400, Robert. — 1410, Sigismond. — 1414, Council of Constance — 
Hussite War. — 1436, Peace of Iglau. — 1438, Austrian House. — 1464, Ernes- 
tine and Albertine Houses. — 1479, Victory at Guinegate. — 1493, Maximilian 
I. — 1495, Diet of Worms: Imperial Chamber. — 1500, Six Circles. 

France. — 1407, Civil War: Burgundians and Armagnacs. — 1415, Defeat at 
Agincourt.— 1420, Treaty of Troyes.— 1422, Charles VII.— 1423, Defeat at 
Verneuil. — 1429, Joan of Arc— 1461, Louis XL— 1477, Charles of Bur- 
gundy killed at Nancy.— 1479, Swiss League.— 1483, Charles VIII.— 1495, 
Naples conquered — Victory of Fornovo. 

Britain. — 1401, Sawtrce burnt for Heresy. — 1413, Henry V. — 1415, Agin 
court. — 1422, Henry VI. — Bedford, Regent. — 1444, Truce of Tours — Jack 
Cade. — Wars of the Roses: 1455, Battle of St. Albans: 1460, of Wake- 
field Green.— 1461, House of York: Edward IV.— 1471, Battle of Bar- 
nett; 1483, of Tewkesbury— Jane Shore— Edward V.— Richard III.— 1485, 
Tudors: Henry VII. —1487, Sirnnel, and Perkin Warbcck. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 307 

Italian Peninsula. — 1400, John de Medici. — 1434, Cosmo I. — 1435, Al- 
phonso V. of Naples. — 1460, Defeat at Sarno. — 1466, Galeazzo Sforza. — 
1469, Lorenzo de Medici.— 1485, Revolt of Nobles. 

Spanish Peninsula. — 1406, John II. of Castile — Alvarez de Luna — Power 
of Grandmaster of the Three Orders. — 1409, Martin V. of Aragon and 
Sicily.— 1419, John II. of Navarre.— 1452, Don Carlos defeated at Aibar. — 
Roussillon and Cerdagne sold to France. — 1454, Henry IV. — Invasion of 
Granada. — 1465, Deposition of Henry — 1474, Isabella. — 1479, Union of 
Castile and Aragon. — 1480, Inquisition. — 1492, Conquest of Granada. 

Church. — 1409, Hussites. — 1414, Sixteenth General Council, Constance. — 
1429, End of Schism of the West.— 1439, Council of Florence.— 1454, St. 
Francis de Paulo founds the order of Minims. 

Inventions and Discoveries. — 1440, Carriages. — 1449, Felt Hats. — Painting 
in Oil.— 1461, Engraving on Copper— First Silk Manufacture. — 1450, Print- 
ing. — 1474, First Lithotomic Operation. — 1495, Algebra. — 1486, Cape of 
Good Hope. — 1492, America discovered. 

Literature and Art. — Poggio, L. Valla, Pulci, Politian, Pico Mirandola, 
Manutius Aldus, Jtal— Budaeus, Fr. — Villena, J. de Mena, Sp. — Lydgate, 
Fortescue, Littleton, Caxton, Eng. — Thomas a Kempis, Reucnlin, Germ. 

GREEK EMPIRE. 

Fall of Constantinople. — The destruction of the Greek empire was 
for a time delayed by the invasions of Tamerlane, so that Manuel, who 
had visited the west of Europe in the hope of obtaining succours from 
the Latin powers, returned to his capital, where he reigned many years 
in prosperity and peace. In 1425, the crown descended to John Palve- 
ologus II., who, with a design of healing 1 the schism between the 
Eastern and Western churches, attended the council of Ferrara, 1438. 
Had this visit failed in its object, still the revival of Greek literature in 
Italy by the learned men in the emperor's train would have been ample 
compensation. On his decease, in 1448, the throne was occupied for the 
last time by one of its native sovereigns, Constantine Paljeologus. 
He was soon attacked by the young and ambitious Mohammed II., who 
laid siege to his capital in the spring of 1453. The emperor, having 
implored in vain the assistance of the Latin princes of Europe, was left 
with only 7000 or 8000 men to contend against a victorious rival at the 
head of 260,000. Fourteen batteries, mounting guns of enormous cali- 
bre, poured their destructive fire, night and day, against the ancient 
walls. The various operations of the siege were conducted with the 
greatest impetuosity on both sides ; while the failing spirits of the gar- 
rison and citizens were revived by the timely arrival of five heavily 
laden ships of war, that had broken through the line of the enemy's fleet, 
and caused a loss of 12,000 men. Although this was the only attempt 
made to succour Constantinople, it so discouraged the sultan, that he 
was about to withdraw his troops, when the devoted city was entirely 
surrounded by transporting some of the lighter Ottoman vessels over 
a narrow isthmus into the inner part of the harbour. The terms of 
capitulation which Mohammed now r offered were such as the religion of 
Constantine forbad him to accept. Preparations were accordingly 
made for a fierce struggle, and while the Greeks dedicated the whole 



<*08 MIDDLE AGES. 

night of 28th May to prayer, the besieging camp was already filled with 
the shouts of victory. At daybreak, the city was violently attacked on 
all sides ; the valour of the Christians long rendered the event douhtful, 
and the fortune of that day might have been different, but for the retreat 
of Justiniani, the Genoese commander, and his auxiliaries. A gigantic 
janizary, named Hassan, was the first to climb the shattered rampart, 
and though precipitated into the ditch, he had shown the practicability 
of the enterprise. Palreologus fell by an unknown hand, resisting to 
the last; and with him the fate of his capital was decided, after a siege 
of fifty -three days, 29th May 1453. Constantinople was sacked, and 
its inhabitants became the prey of the victors. In the destruction of the 
libraries, posterity has to regret the loss of 120,000 manuscripts. 

The dissolution of the Greek empire now proceeded step by step. " Every 
province was in turn subdued ; the limbs were lopped off one by one ; and the 
majesty of the Roman name was ultimately confined to the walls of Constan- 
tinople. Before Mohammed II. planted his cannon against them, he had 
deprived the expiring empire of every hope of succour or delay. It was neces- 
sary that Constantinople should fall ; but the magnanimous resignation of her 
emperor bestows an honour upon her fall, which her prosperity seldom earned. 
The long deferred but inevitable moment arrived, and the last of the Cassars 
folded round him the imperial mantle, and remembered the name which he 
represented in the dignity of heroic death." — Hallam's Middle Ages. 

OTTOMAN EMPTRE AND TURKEY. 

Invasion of Tamerlane. — In 1402, Tamerlane invaded the Ottoman 
empire, after provoking Bajazet by menacing letters, in which he was 
compared to an insect. The sultan was at this time besieging Constan- 
tinople, when hastily breaking up his camp before that city, he marched 
against the Mongols, who were attacking Angora, in Asia Minor. Here, 
on the 28th July, he gave battle on the ground where Pompey defeated 
the army of Mithridates. The combat was prolonged (hiring three 
days and two nights, and 140,000 men were left dead on that terrible 
field of slaughter. The Turks were completely routed, and Bajazet 
fell into the hands of the conqueror, by whom (according to the western 
historians, whose testimony is not confirmed by the Persians) he was 
carried about enclosed in an iron cage until his death. Fortunately for 
Europe, the want of ships checked the progress of Tamerlane on the 
shores of the Hellespont and Bosporus. The victor now returned to 
Samarkand, whence his ambition, which the snows of seventy winters 
had not cooled, hurried him to China, hoping to add that country to his 
acquisitions ; but he did not live to realize his project, having died at 
Otrar, 1st April 1405. The fate of his kingdom was similar to that of 
Alexander, whose place it nearly occupied. From a portion of this 
immense dominion his descendant Baber, in the next century, formed 
the empire of the Great Mogul in India. 

The invasion now described, and dissensions among the sons of Ba- 
jazet, nearly compromised the existence of the Ottoman state ; but the 
victory of Semendria, gained by Musa over the Emperor Sigismond in 
1412, restored to the Crescent its former glory, and the pacific policy 
of Mohammed I. secured the conquests of his predecessors. Constan 
tinople, however, still remained insulated in the midst of barbarians, 
having no means of communication with the rest of Europe except by 
the Genoese cruisers. It owed the prolongation of its miserable exist 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 309 

<mce to the protection of the merchants of Pera. The. intrigues of 
Manuel with a pretender, in 1422, exposed him to the vengeance of 
Amurath II. , who besieged Constantinople with an army of 200,000 
men ; from which danger, however, the capital escaped for the present. 

Huniades. — A formidable armament for the relief of Constantinople 
was preparing on the banks of the Danube, which the sultan resolved to 
anticipate. The Turks invaded Servia, and took Semendria in 1435, 
yet all their efforts were unavailing against Belgrade, defended by John 
Huniades. This hero, from an obscure origin, had risen by his talents 
to the command of the Hungarian armies ; and the epithet of brigand, 
which the infidels added to his name, attests the hatred with which he 
was regarded by them. Through his 'nrluence Ladislaus of Poland 
obtained the crown of Hungary, 1440, in return for which important 
service he had received the dignity of Waywode of Transylvania. In 
1442, and the subsequent year, Ladislaus and Huniades gained several 
advantages over the Turks, so that Amurath demanded a truce for ten 
years ; upon which, satisfied with having restored peace to his domin- 
ions, he abdicated in favour of his son Mohammed II.. and retired among 
the dervises of Magnesia, 1443. The imprudent zeal of Pope Euge- 
nius IV. caused the treaty to be broken the same year it was made,— 
a circumstance which drew Amurath from his seclusion. Meeting the 
Hungarians near Varna, he was long unable to make any impression on 
their gallant band of 24,000 warriors ; but the impetuosity of Ladislaus 
cost him his life, and produced a panic which ended in a sanguinary 
defeat. During the minority of the Austrian prince who succeeded, 
Huniades was governor of Hungary, and, in the course of an adminis- 
tration of twelve years, showed in how eminent a degree he united the 
talents of a statesman and of a warrior. He formed an alliance with 
Scanderbeg, the Hero of Albania, and after employing two years in 
placing his own country in a state of defence, crossed the Danube at 
the head of 22,000 men to join that prince. Though betrayed into the 
hands of the Turks, the battle was continued during three days, and 
terminated in the destruction of the Christian army, 1448. The brother 
of Huniades and a great number of men of rank were among the slain ; 
and Amurath lost 34,000 warriors, many of whose bodies were flung 
into a neighbouring river to conceal his disaster. 

Scanderbeg. — Amurath II., after this triumph, had retired once more 
to the solitudes of Magnesia, where a mutiny of the janizaries did not 
allow him to remain. Being forced to resume the government after a 
second abdication, he directed his forces against Albania, the inhabitants 
of which had revolted on the return of the young Scanderbeg (Alexan- 
der Bey), who had been sent as hostage to Amurath by his father, 
Prince John Castriot. The permanent army of the Albanian prince 
consisted of 8000 horse and 7000 foot, which insignificant force resisted, 
during twenty-three years, all the attacks of two formidable warriors. 
Amurath is said to have died at Adrianople of chagrin at his failure in 
the siege of Croia, 1451 ; and Scanderbeg perished of a violent fever at 
Lissa in 14G7. When this place was afterwards captured by the Turks, 
they exhumed, with religious respect, the mortal remains of the hero, 
and suspended round their necks in gold or silver frames the smallest 
portions of his bones as amulets to impart strength and courage. The 
Castriots took refuge in Naples, and the descendants of an Albanian 



310 MIDDLE AGES. 

colony which accompanied them are still to be found in»Calabria, pre- 
serving almost unchanged the language and manners of their fathers. 

Mohammed II., following the advice of his father, determined tc 
reduce Constantinople. An army of 21)0,000 men, aided by a fleet of 
300 sail, appeared before the imperial city, which was besieged for the 
twenty-ninth time since its foundation. After two months the Greek 
empire was terminated by the fall of the capital, and its subjects were 
scattered as slaves over all the Ottoman empire. Various means were 
used to recall to the deserted city those inhabitants who had lied, but it 
was long before they returned in any considerable number, although per- 
fect toleration of their religion was granted. 

Being now master of the metropolis, the sultan claimed the island of 
Rhodes, occupied by the knights of Saint John, as a dependency of his 
empire. His demand for tribute was haughtily rejected ; and important 
affairs soon called his attention to another quarter. Pope Cahxtus III. 
was labouring to unite the selfish and impolitic princes of the West in 
an offensive treaty against the Ottomans. Mohammed, unwilling to be 
surprised, marched to lay siege to Belgrade, at the head of 150,000 men, 
while 200 small vessels blockaded it on the side of the Danube, 1456. 
Here the sultan was less fortunate than he had been at Constantinople ; 
for he was defeated by Huniades, who unhappily perished in the very 
hour of triumph. But this check to his arms only turned them in 
another direction; and the duchy of Athens, possessed since 1364 by the 
Florentine house of Acciaiuoli, was destroyed, as was the independence 
of Trebizond, Servia, and Bosnia, not long afterwards. The Venetians 
alone made any important resistance after the reduction of Albania, and 
their devastating incursions on the seacoasts of Greece gave rise to the 
solemn vow of Mohammed II., offered up in all the mosques in his 
dominions, pledging himself and his subjects to the entire extirpation 
of Christianity, 1469. The very next year, in fact, a powerful Turkish 
fleet, the largest armament that had appeared in those seas since the 
time of Xerxes, attacked the island of Negropont, and massacred all the 
inhabitants of its capital. The signal defeats suffered before Scutari 
and Lepanto were counteracted by the acquisition of Caffa in the Crimea, 
a town which, for two centuries, had been in the power of the Genoese, 
and was the mart of all the productions of the North and the East. 

In 1480, the sultan carried into execution his long-meditated plan 
against the island of Rhodes. One hundred thousand men, commanded 
by a renegade of the imperial house of the Palaeologi, appeared off its 
shores, but only to suffer defeat. After an attack, prolonged during 
three months, Misithes was forced to yield to the firmness of Peter 
d'Aubusson, grand-master, whose wise government of thirty years was 
productive of glory and prosperity to the knights of his order. To efface 
the impression of this repulse. Mohammed resolved to send two expedi- 
tions simultaneously against the East and West; but death surprised 
him in the midst of his projects in May 1481. 

The two great secrets of Mohammed's military success were rapidity and 
secrecy ; but still he is far from meriting the praise that has been lavished on 
his generalship. Although acts of monstrous ferocity have been imputed to 
him, he was a friend to letters, founded a public library, instituted two acade- 
mies (Medresse), and was frequently present at the discussions of their learned 
members, distributing rewards to the most distinguished orators and poets. He 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 311 

was instructed in history and geography, and could converse in Greek, Latin, 
Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian. It was this prince who legalized fratricide, 
supporting the decrees of his code by the maxim of the Koran, that confusion 
is worse than murder. 

Mohammed left two sons, Bajazet II. and Zizim. While the elder 
was engaged on a pilgrimage to Mecca, the younger laid claim to the 
empire, and the troops of Asia declared in his favour. Beaten near Brusa 
by the Grand Vizier Achmet, Zizim fled from one retreat to another, 
until he found an asylum in Rhodes. He was demanded by the sultan, 
but the knights refused to give him up, and afterwards sent him to 
France, where he was kept prisoner, — Bajazet readily paying an annual 
sum of 35,000 ducats to ensure his captivity. He died in 1495, of poi- 
son administered, it has been insinuated, with the connivance of Pope 
Alexander VI. 

A quarrel between two tributary princes of the respective empires was 
the pretext for hostilities between Bajazet and the Sultan of Egypt. 
The former was at first unsuccessful, and suffered defeat at Issus in 
Cilicia, 1488 ; but more fortunate in Europe, he reduced Moldavia, 
Bosnia, and Croatia, and succoured the Moors of Granada against the 
Spaniards. 

GERMANY. 

The Italian expeditions, which had again been suspended under 
Wenceslaus, were revived, in 1400, by his successor the elector pala- 
tine, Robert of Bavaria, who endeavoured to open his way to Rome by 
the ruin of the Visconti, then absolute masters of the Milanese; but his 
defeat on the lake of Guarda proved that Italy was for ever lost to the 
Germans. On the death of Robert, disunion again arose in the electoral 
diet; and a triple schism divided at the same time the empire and the 
church. The electors favoured at once the deposed Emperor Wences- 
laus, his brother Sigismond, and Jossus of Moravia, his cousin: by the 
death of this last, however, in 1411, all the suffrages were united in sup- 
port of Sigismond, king of Hungary and elector of Brandenburg. 

Under a prince already possessing the rank of elector and the crown 
of Hungary, with the prospect of succeeding to the throne of Bohemia, 
the imperial power seemed about to regain its former greatness. But 
the successful attacks of the Ottomans, the necessity of re-establishing 
order among churchmen, and, above all, a religious war in Bohemia, 
prevented Sigismond from restoring the throne of the Caesars to its 
ancient splendour. 

Hussite War. — The council of Constance, 1414, which was expected 
to have effected a universal reconciliation in Christendom, only imper- 
fectly attained this noble end, and was for the empire in particular a 
new cause of discord and misfortune. This assembly condemned to the 
stake John Huss and Jerome of Prague, who had propagated in Bohemia 
the doctrines of our own W'ickliffe ; and the news that the cruel sentence 
was executed, inspired some of their followers with a deep desire of 
revenge. They took arms under John of Zisca, and massacred the 
senate of Prague. King W r enceslaus of Bohemia died of fright; and 
Sigismond was unable to prevent the states-general of the kingdom from 
uniting with the rebels. Compelled to fight against his own subjects. 
he at first met with continual reverses, and was unable to protect the 



312 MIDDLE AGES. 

empire against the incursions of the Taborites. At length the conces- 
sions made by the council of Basle having led to the submission of the 
states, their chief, Procopius, could not prolong the war; and his defeat 
in 1431 was followed by the pacification of Iglau. The King of 
Hungary died, after having restored tranquillity to his dominions ; and 
with Sigismond perished the royal house of Luxemburg, 1437. 

House of Austria. — Albert II., duke of Austria, the son-in-law of 
Sigismond, and sovereign of Bohemia and Hungary, was elected King 
of the Romans in 1438. During his brief reign of two years, he reformed 
many abuses in the administration of justice, and moderated the formi- 
dable power of the secret tribunal of Westphalia. To suppress private 
wars and establish public security on a solid foundation, he proposed to 
divide the empire into several cantons or circles, each under a director 
and captain-general, charged with maintaining peace ; but various 
obstacles hindered the execution of this project. Albert died on his 
return from an expedition against the Ottomans who had invaded 
Bohemia. His loss was regarded as a calamity to his subjects and to 
Europe generally, his power and talents being deemed the best defence 
of Christendom against the arms of the infidels. 

The conduct of Frederick III., who succeeded in 1440, made the 
death of his predecessor more severely felt. In consequence of differ- 
ences with his brother Albert, he could not for two years after his 
election visit Aix-la-Chapelle to receive the imperial crown. Gained 
by the flattering presents of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, he 
surrendered all the ancient claims of the empire over the duchies of 
Brabant and Limburg, with the countships of Holland, Zealand, and 
Hainault, and the lordship of Friesland. Nor was he more capable of 
maintaining the privileges of the Germanic church against the holy see. 
The desire of being crowned at Rome induced him to attempt a recon- 
ciliation between the states of Germany which had adopted the opinions 
of the council of Basle and Pope Eugenius IV. After mutual conces- 
sions, a treaty of union was signed at the diet of Frankfort; and 
subsequently, in another assembly, the Germanic concordat was sub- 
stituted for the pragmatic sanction of Mentz, 1448. Idle projects of 
ambition now filled the mind of Frederick, and withdrew his attention 
from the government of the empire, which was a prey to civil war, at 
the very time when, in his hereditary dominions, he was contending 
against his own brother. 

The Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Good, the firm friend and ally 
of the emperor, died in 1464, leaving two sons, Ernest and Albert. The 
former succeeded to Thuringia and the electorate, and was the founder 
of the Ernestine house, which reigned in Saxony until 1548, and from 
whence issued the branches of Weimar, Gotha, Cobourg, Meiningen, 
and Hildburghausen. Albert, who had Misnia, was the root of the 
Albertine family : this dynasty succeeded to the electorate of Saxony, 
and filled the Polish throne from 1697 to 1763. 

The death of the emperor's brother and the treaty of Frankfort having 
restored tranquillity to Germany, all eyes were directed to the rapid 
conquests of the Ottomans ; but even the pathetic exhortations of Popes 
Nicholas V., Calixtus III., and Pius II., failed to excite the ardour of 
the crusades. The minds of the people were otherwise occupied ; and 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 318 

the church probably felt more apprehension at the spread of the Hussite 
doctrines than at the victories of the infidels. 

While the weak Frederick still wore a crown which he was incapable 
of protecting, Charles the Bold, sovereign duke of Burgundy, Franche- 
Comte, Artois, and Flanders, aspired to the regal dignity. Negotiations 
on this matter were opened with the emperor; but at the very moment 
the duke thought the object of his ambition within his grasp, the other 
changed his mind, and hastily quitted Treves, where the two contracting 
parties had met. Charles soon sought an opportunity of avenging this 
slight; but his forces being exhausted during the long siege of Neuss, 
he was glad to purchase a cessation of hostilities by a present of 200,000 
crowns and the promise of his daughter to the Archduke Maximilian, 
1475. Meantime, the Swiss had invaded Franche-Comte; three times 
they defeated the armies of Charles ; and he himself perished under the 
walls of Nancy. His death, of itself memorable, is more so from its 
consequences. Mary, the heiress of his vast estates, preferred the son 
of the emperor to all the other princes who sought her hand in marriage. 
This union, the fertile source of a long rivalry between the houses of 
France and Austria, was immediately followed by a war between Maxi- 
milian and Louis XL, the latter claiming part of the Burgundian 
succession. Four years of hostility, signalized by no events of more 
importance than the battle of Guinegate, gained by the Austrians in 
1479, and the premature death of the Archduchess Mary, endangered 
the power of Maximilian, who in 1488, was thrown into prison at 
Bruges by his revolted subjects, and liberated only on the approach of a 
German army. 

In 1493, Frederick died,* and was succeeded by Maximilian I., who 
shortly after espoused Blanche Mary, niece of Ludovico Sforza, duke of 
Milan, by which union he acquired the power of interfering in the 
political transactions of Italy. The part he took in the great events of 
which this peninsula w r as the theatre during his reign, will be detailed 
in the history of France. 

When, in 1495, Maximilian demanded subsidies for the prosecution 
of the Italian war, the states assembled in diet at W^orms refused to 
occupy themselves with foreign matters until they had decreed the pro- 
mulgation of a perpetual peace, and the establishment of a tribunal for 
punishing or preventing all infringement of the conditions of this new 
constitution. By one of its fundamental articles, all private war was 
forbidden under the penalty of 2000 gold marcs and being placed under 
the ban of the empire. To ensure the execution of its regulations, a 
diet was created, under the title of the Imperial Chamber, a permanent 
court of justice; the composition of which, and the place of its sitting, 
were however continually changed. The decrees of the diet of Worms 
were renewed by that of Augsburg in 1500, the latter also realizing the 
idea of dividing Germany into circles, of which there were at first only 
six, — Bavaria, Franconia, Saxony, the Rhine, Swabia, and Westphalia. 



*The famous Austrian device. Jl. E. I. O. U., that is, Austria Est Tmperare Orbi Uni- 
verso, was first used by Frederick III., who caused it to be inscribed on bis books, plate 
and public buildings. 

Q7 



314 



MIDDLE AGES. 



3°. 



I* I 

* II « 



Oo 



o go 
«8 



$ 5 



If 






< « 






7 rt 






I' 2 
s ° 






3 






O 
St 


S 




3 


II j 


>> 


10 £5 

C5 10 


. IV 


ri 


i-t 3 


f 

2 is 


bo 


+-<*! 



, to 

1 






£< 






-a j3 .s 
•S 5 ^ 



H 1 ? 



la 



§1 



3 +- 3 

« or a 

' • 3 * 

£2 « M 

1-1 rt j, 

« X! — 

»o / 

c a >> 

.2 <~ rt 
Hog 

o * || 



« o 

V — 



* <~ - 



to CS 

< 1 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 315 



FRANCE. 



Burgundians and Armagnacs. — The imbecility of Charles VI. left 
France without a ruler ; but his uncles, after expelling the ministers, 
seized on the royal authority, and rendered the government odious by 
the divisions and quarrels which threatened the country with the greatest 
misfortunes. After some years of tyrannical administration, the state 
changed masters, without however receiving any change of fortune. 
Louis, duke of Orleans, his majesty's brother, supplanted his three 
uncles, and was proclaimed lieutenant-general of the kingdom. But 
this victory cost him dear, for when the Duke of Burgundy died, his 
son John-sans-Peur, a man of vindictive temper, resolved to destroy his 
father's rival ; and the better to compass this end, he feigned to become 
reconciled to him. The two princes swore eternal friendship, and par- 
took of the sacrament together ; yet three days after, on 23d November 
1407, Orleans was assassinated in the streets of Paris by the agents of 
the Duke of Burgundy. The murderer openly boasted of his crime, and 
a doctor of the Sorbonne was found to justify the deed. The unfor- 
tunate Louis left three legitimate sons, and the bastard Dunois, son of 
Mary of Enghien. 

As these young men grew up, they determined to avenge their father's 
murder. Charles, the eldest, who had married the daughter of the 
Count of Armagnac, became the chief of the Orleanists, and from him 
they derived the name that characterized them in the civil wars which 
ensued. Hostilities began with the devastation of the environs of Paris, 
and to preserve this city, the Duke of Burgundy organized the faction 
of the Butchers, who, from the name of one of their chiefs, were denomi- 
nated Cabochins, 1411. His rivals, now despairing of success, solicited 
the protection of Henry IV. of England, offering to fulfil the conditions 
of the treaty of Bretigny. This flagrant abandonment of the rights of 
France gave fresh power to the Duke of Burgundy, who induced the 
king to declare the Armagnacs enemies to the state. The royalist army 
marched into Berri against them, and a treaty was signed at Bourgess, 
which put an end to hostilities without bringing about a real concilia- 
tion ; the fear of foreign invasion alone having temporarily united the 
two parties. 

Meanwhile Henry V. had succeeded to the English crown, and on the 
refusal of the French princes to execute the treaty of Bretigny, he landed 
in Normandy with 30,000 men, took Harfleur, and endeavoured to march 
through Picardy to Calais. An army nearly ten times the amount of 
his own encountered him at Agincourt, 25th October 1415, and expe- 
rienced a defeat more terrible than those of Cressy and Poitiers. Ten 
thousand French, among whom were seven princes and more than eight 
thousand gentlemen, perished on the field, while five princes and four- 
teen thousand men were made prisoners. 

This loss increased in an extraordinary degree the unpopularity of the 
Armagnacs, and the Parisians took a very active part in the revolt 
against their party, great numbers of whom were put into confinement. 
In June 1418, the prisons were broken open, and all immured there were 
slain one by one as they came out. The Count of Armagnac, father-in- 
law of the dauphin, the chancellor, seven prelates, with peers and 
magistrates of the parliament, were dragged from their dungeons and 



316 MIDDLE AGES. 

massacred. In one prison some resistance was made; but the edifice 
being at last set on fire, the inmates surrendered ; and the populace 
rushing- in, compelled them to precipitate themselves out of the windows 
upon pikes held below. Three thousand five hundred persons are 
stated to have perished in three days. 

The cruelty of the Burgundians was not atoned for by any valour or 
activity in their party, whose unpopularity was farther increased by the 
conclusion of a treaty with the English. Circumstances, however, 
occurred that induced the duke to seek a reconciliation with the dauphin, 
for which purpose a meeting was appointed to take place at the bridge 
of Montereau, on the Yonne, where he was assassinated by the attend- 
ants of the prince. The latter, though probably innocent of this 
treacherous act, was abandoned by the majority of the nation, and expe- 
rienced a new enemy in Philip the Good, who had succeeded to the vast 
possessions of his father. The young duke, forming an alliance with 
Isabella of Bavaria and the king of England, procured Henry's signature 
to the treaty of Troyes, 1420, by which, on the marriage of the latter 
with Catherine, daughter of Charles VI., he was to be declared regent 
of the kingdom, and to succeed to the throne on that monarch's death, 
in despite of the claims of the dauphin. In the midst of his glory, and 
when his expectations of conquering all France were highest, Henry V. 
died at the castle of Vincennes in 1422; and the same year beheld the 
close of the unfortunate reign of Charles in circumstances of great 
depression. 

Charles VII. was crowned at Poitiers, where he organized a parlia- 
ment and university from among the members of those bodies who had 
left Paris when the English entered it in triumph. Amused by the little 
court he had assembled round him, he forgot the loss of his provinces 
amid balls and gayeties, which soon exhausted his scanty treasury. 
During these festivities, the Duke of Brittany declared for the English, 
and notwithstanding the victory of Marshal la Fayette at Bauge, in 
1421, the Scottish auxiliary troops in the service of Charles were de- 
feated at Crevant, and again at Verneuil, 1424; the city of Orleans, 
which defended the passage of the Loire, was already closely invested, 
and the king proposed to retire into the southern provinces, when several 
unexpected events turned the current of affairs.* 

Joan of Arc. — On the death of Henry V. of England, the Dukes of 
Bedford and Gloucester had been appointed guardians of his son, Henry 
VI. ; the former to have the regency of France, the latter that of Eng- 
land. At this epoch there appeared one of the most remarkable enthu- 
siasts that history has commemorated. Joan of Arc, a village girl of 
Domremy in Lorraine, was the daughter of poor and industrious parents. 
Her early years had been employed in tending cattle, and the solitude 
in which much of her time was passed seems to have fostered a disposi- 
tion naturally religious and enthusiastic. The degradation of her coun- 
try had so deeply impressed her mind, that she was persuaded heaven 
had commissioned her to effect its deliverance. Encouraged, as she 

*Fe\v states have ever been in a more wretched condition than France at this period. 
To the north of the Loire the country appeared to be one vast scene of desolation,— 
theft and open robbery being the chief occupations of the inhabitants. Charles was 
acknowledged king only by the central provinces, and by Languedoc, Poitou, ani/ 
Dauphiny. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 317 

fondly imagined, by angelic voices, she determined to declare to the 
king her mission ; and though she met with great opposition, at length 
appeared before Charles, who at first treated her as a visionary. Per- 
sisting, however, in her declaration that she was delegated by Cathe- 
rine, her patron saint, to raise the siege of Orleans, and to crown her 
native monarch in Rheims, at that time in the hands of the enemy, she 
obtained a party of troops for the relief of the besieged town, 1428. 
With the veteran Dunois at her side, she succeeded in making her way 
into the city, when the assailants retired, a prey to superstitious terrors, 
not less strongly felt by Talbot and Chandos than by the meanest sol- 
diers under their command. In the course of the next year, she had 
the gratification of seeing her sovereign consecrated in the cathedral of 
Rheims. She was soon after taken prisoner by the Burgundians, while 
endeavouring to raise the siege of Compiegne; and John of Luxemburg 
surrendered her to the Duke of Bedford for a large sum of money. 
At Rouen she was burned on a charge of witchcraft in 1431, it having 
been declared that the defeats of the English " were caused by the un- 
lawful doubt that they had of a disciple and limb of the fiend, called 
the Pucelle, who had used false enchantments and sorcery."* 

With the king every thing now appeared to prosper : the Duke of 
Burgundy entered into an alliance with him; his victorious troops re- 
entered Paris in 1437; and if a few other places remained in the hands 
of the English, it was owing entirely to the discontent of the dauphin, 
Louis, and some turbulent nobles. A brief civil war, called the Pra- 
guerie, interrupted for a season the triumphant progress of his arms ; 
and in 1444, a suspension of hostilities, concluded at Tours, left several 
towns in possession of the enemy for a brief period. Charles took 
advantage of this interval of repose to re-organize his army, and to 
negotiate the marriage of Margaret of Anjou with Henry VI., — a union 
unfavourable to England, as it caused both the loss of the French pro- 
vinces and civil wars that lasted half a century. The queen brought 
no dowry to her husband, who, although crowned in his infancy King 
of France and England, w r as fated to expire dethroned. The Duke of 
Suffolk, who had risen to high rank by the favour of the king, found it 
necessary to make peace with France, and even renounced, in his mas- 
ter's name, all title to Maine and Anjou. As he did not venture to make 
a public avowal of these shameful transactions, he still maintained gar- 
risons in the two provinces; but Charles, w r ho did not understand the 
policy of Suffolk, renewed hostilities in 1448. Dunois conquered all 
Normandy; while Richemont destroyed at Formigny the only English 
army that could arrest his progress. The taking of Rouen, Cherbourg, 
and Harfleur, in 1450, and, next year, of Bayonne and Bordeaux, left 
Calais alone in the hands of Henry VI. Thus France became suddenly 

* If the cruel fate of Joan of Arc be a stain on the glory of England, what can be said 
of Charles VII. and his friends, who abandoned her to languish in captivity, and to 
perish at the stake? No ransom was offered for her, no attempt made to alleviate the 
rigour of her confinement, no notice was taken of her execution. An ingenious writer 
in the Monthly Magazine has recently endeavoured to prove that she did not suffer 
execution, and that she was afterwards received at Orleans with due honours ; that she 
was acknowledged by her brothers Jean and Pierre, and afterwards married to a gentle- 
man of the house ofAmbois, in 143G ; and that, on their solicitation, her sentence was 
annulled in 145(5. The curious in such matters are referred to the work of M. Palluche, 
Probleme Hist, sur la Pucelle <f Orleans, or to the last volume of the Histoirc dc Jeanne 
d'Arc, surnommec la Pucelle, by Lebrun de Charmcttes, 4 vols. Paris, 1817. 
27* 



318 MIDDLE AGES. 

freed from her foreign enemies. Charles recompensed the faithful in- 
struments of his success ; and a profound peace, with a paternal govern- 
ment and wise legislation, promised to heal the wounds of the country, 
when the king found his life endangered by the wickedness of his son, 
which in some degree accelerated his death in 1461. 

Charles VII. was a good king, but, in the earlier part of his life, appears to 
have been of an easy disposition, so that it was remarked of him, lhat no one 
could lose a kingdom with greater gayety. But when the tide of affairs turned, 
and success followed the enthusiastic appearance of Joan of Arc, he equalled 
his greatest captains in activity and courage. It was he who first provided for 
the security of the throne and kingdom by a standing army, and by his vigour 
asserted the supremacy of the law. The bastard of Bourbon, condemned to 
death, was put into a sack and thrown into the river. The Duke of Alencon, 
accused of corresponding with the English, was sentenced to die ; and though 
the extreme penalty was remitted in consequence of his royal blood, he was 
confined in the castle of Loches, near Tours. Charles endeavoured to assimilate 
the customs of the different provinces; and the celebrated Pragmatic Sanction, 
long the bulwark of the Gallican church, was his work. 

Louis XI., 1461. — The reign of this monarch was one continued strug- 
gle against the great vassals. He had scarcely ascended the throne 
before he displaced all his father's ministers, and restored those who 
had been disgraced. The result of these measures tending to repress 
the nobility, was the formation of a league " for the public good," at the 
head of which was placed Charles, duke of Berri, a youth not more than 
sixteen, 1464. The battle of Montlheri, fought the next 3 r ear, was inde- 
cisive; but as Paris remained faithful, the king's power was unshaken. 
He thought it prudent, however, to come to terms with his antagonists; 
and the treaties of Conflans and Saint Maur were concluded. The con- 
ditions were fulfilled by neither party ; in fact, Louis never intended to 
observe them, wishing merely to gain time for sowing dissension among 
the confederate princes. Misunderstandings between the Duke of Brit- 
tany and the new ruler of Normandy soon furnished the desired oppor- 
tunity ; and Monsieur (fot so the king's brother began to be called) lost 
his government within a few weeks of his investiture, 1465. 

Charles the Bold A more formidable danger threatened Louis 

when the dukedom of Burgundy fell to Charles, count of Charolais, on 
the death of his father Philip the Good in 1467. The French king was 
marching; against the Duke of Brittany, who persisted in holding certain 
towns in Normandy, which had been declared by the assembly at Tours 
to be a fief inseparable from the crown, when Charles hastened from his 
residence in Brussels to the support of his ally. On reaching the 
Somme, he learnt that negotiations had been commenced, and that his 
imposing force would be compelled to remain inactive. While he was 
waiting for the arrangement of affairs, Louis roused a formidable enemy 
in his states, which compelled him to retire. The bishopric of Lierro, 
containing twenty-six towns, yielded reluctant obedience to a prelate 
nominated by the duke; for, although it was situated in the Low Coun- 
tries, it was a fief of the empire. Louis, by his emissaries, excited the 
people to revolt, at the same time that he accepted an invitation to meet 
Charles at Peronne, in 1468. To this place the king resorted with few 
attendants; and when the news of the insurrection at Liege, with the 
murder of the bishop, reached the duke, he kept Louis a prisoner until 
he signed a treaty confirming those of Arras and Conflans. After a des- 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 319 

,)erate resistance, the insurgents were compelled to submit. Their town 
was carried by assault; the inhabitants were drowned or massacred 
without distinction of person or sex; and the city itself was burnt to the 
ground. 

The destruction of Liege and the abolition of the privileges of Ghent, 
allowed Charles to turn his views abroad. At this period new commo- 
tions w r ere taking place in England, in which the King of France and 
the Duke of Burgundy interposed, — Louis favouring Lancaster, as the 
French party ; while Charles, married to the sister of Edward IV., sup- 
ported the Yorkists. The objects of the ambitious duke were twofold : 
he wished to re-establish the ancient kingdom of Burgundy, by re-unit- 
ing to his present dominions the states of Lorraine, Provence, Dauphiny, 
and Switzerland; and, secondly, he aimed, in concert with the English, 
at the dismemberment of France and the conquest of Champagne and 
Nivernois. 

Charles entered Lorraine with 40,000 men, and, having reduced it, 
turned his arms against the Swiss, 1476. His valiant cavalry were 
defeated at Granson, and at Morat, by a half-disciplined army of pea- 
sants. Before he had recovered from these reverses, Rene of Vaude- 
mont reconquered Lorraine ; and the duke was roused from the melan- 
choly state into which he had fallen, to attempt its reduction anew. 
With all the forces he could muster he hastened to besiege Nancy, leav- 
ing an Italian, named Campo-Basso, to direct the operations; and this 
traitor having deserted with a portion of the troops under his command, 
Charles was forced to give battle with scarcely 4000 men. On the 5th 
January 1177, during a heavy fall of snow, the duke began the engage- 
ment; his small army was soon overwhelmed by numbers, and he him- 
self fell, after having performed prodigies of valour. "Thus perished," 
says Duclos, " at the age of forty-four years, Charles, last duke of Bur- 
gundy, who had no virtues but those of a soldier. He was ambitious, 
daring, and rash, the enemy of peace, and always thirsting for blood. 
He ruined his house by his foolish enterprises, caused the misery of his 
subjects, and merited his misfortunes." 

Louis immediately seized on the towns along the Somme, on Bur- 
gundy as a male fief (for Charles had left only a daughter, Mary), and 
on Besancon, altogether nearly two-thirds of the late duke's territories. 
Flanders and Artois having declared in favour of the princess, the king 
proceeded against them, when the youthful heiress was subjected to the 
insolence of the revolted burghers of Ghent, who wished her to marry 
Adolphus of Gueldres, an object of universal execration. But this per- 
son dying in battle, Mary, to shield herself from further persecution, 
united herself, in 1477, to Maximilian, son of the Emperor Frederick III., 
and hence commenced the rivalry of the houses of France and Austria. 
Louis, on discovering the error he had committed in allowing her to 
espouse a foreigner, marched into Flanders, and, after a temporary ad- 
vantage, was defeated at Guinegate. Negotiations, truces, and intrigues 
followed, interrupted only by the death of the archduchess, who left two 
children ; Philip, whose marriage with Joanna of Castile gave Spain to 
the house of Austria, and a princess named Margaret. Maximilian lost 
all by the death of his wife ; and the citizens of Ghent, assuming the 
guardianship of her children, forced the archduke to make peace with 
Louis. By the treaty of Arras, in 1482, it was stipulated that Margaret 



320 MIDDLE AGES. 

and the dauphin should he united in marriage, and receive for dowry the 
provinces of Franche-Comte and Artois. 

The demise of Louis was now fast approaching. Frequent attacks 
of apoplexy gave him those salutary warnings which his physicians 
hesitated to offer, and he retired to his favourite castle of Plessis near 
Tours, where he expired in August 1483, at the age of sixty, leaving by 
testament the guardianship of his heir, Charles VIII., to his eldest 
daughter, the princess Anne. 

The character of Louis XI. was an extraordinary compound, and his reign, 
though in some respects odious, was beneficial to the interests of France. He 
completed the ruin of the great feudatories by annexing ten provinces to the 
crown: Roussillon and Cerdagne in 1462; Guienne, 1472; Picardy and Bur- 
gundy, 1477 ; Provence, Maine, Anjou, 14S1 ; Perche, Artois, Franche- 
Comte, 1482. He established monarchical power in the east and south of 
France, by instituting three parliaments, — at Grenoble, 1451 ; Bordeaux, 1462; 
and Dijon, 1477 ; which also served to limit the jurisdiction of the nobles. He 
repressed their license in the person of the Count of Armagnac and of the Sieur 
d'Albret, 1473; of the constable Saint Pol, 1475; of the Duke of Alencon, 
1476 ; and of the Duke of Nemours, 1477. But he associated with persons of 
low birth, such as Oliver Daim, his barber, whom he created Count of Meulan ; 
he visited the citizens of Paris, inquired into their private affairs, and frequently 
admitted them to his table. He was superstitious to an extreme degree ; care- 
less of his most solemn promises, unless made by the cross of Saint Lo. His 
mind was cultivated by study ; and two works have been attributed to him, le 
Rosier des Guerres, and a collection of tales. He founded the universities of 
Valence and Bourges, and transported that of Dole to Besancon. By him also 
the newly discovered art of printing was protected, the study of medicine 
encouraged,* and commerce increased by the establishment of several new 
fairs and markets. One of the most useful institutions of this reign was that 
of posts, which originally served for the conveyance of the correspondence of 
the king with the papal court; and in 1481, they were extended to private 
individuals. 

Charles VIII. was only thirteen years of age when he ascended the 
throne in 1483, under the regency of his sister, who united all the graces 
of her sex with a masculine disposition of mind. Her first antagonists 
were two pretenders to the guardianship of the young king; Louis, duke 
of Orleans, the presumptive heir, and John of Bourbon, elder brother of 
her husband the Lord of Beaujeu. To decide upon their claims the 
states-general were assembled at Tours, when the administration of the 
late monarch was bitterly condemned, and the recall of most of his edicts 
loudly demanded. Still the government of the kingdom was secured to 
Anne, and Orleans nominated president of the king's council. This 
arrangement was far from satisfying the inordinate wishes of the duke, 
who, finding his complaints neglected, raised an army of 20,000 men, 
and threatened the regent. She was not, however, discouraged, but by 
her activity captured the several leaders in their fortresses, and termi- 
nated the war, almost without a battle, 1485. Maximilian, who had 
formed an alliance with the insurgents, still continued his attacks, and 
was only prevented from maintaining his conquests by his inability to 
pay his troops, who were accordingly disbanded. The duke himself 
not long afterwards was defeated and made prisoner; while Francis of 
Brittany was so humiliated by the terms of peace forced upon him that 

* In this reijrn the operation of lithotomy was first tried with success on the body of 
a criminal condemned to die. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 321 

he died a few days after signing the treaty. His daughter Anne, only 
fourteen years of age, inherited the duchy, which, by her politic mar- 
riage with Charles, was annexed to the French crown in 1491 ; and thus, 
of all the great, feudatories who had so disturbed the kingdom, there 
remained only the Count of Flanders, now become Archduke of Austria. 
Italian War. — The crown of France had inherited the rights of the 
house of Anjou to the throne of Naples, and the greatest desire of 
Charles, during the tranquillity of his kingdom, was to assert them by 
arms, and expel the family of Aragon. At the age of twenty-four, igno- 
rant of the military art, without money or skilful generals, he set out 
from Grenoble, in August 1494, at the head of 6000 French infantry, as 
many Swiss, 5000 cavalry, and 140 pieces of cannon. The march of 
this small army spread everywhere the greatest terror. The Italians 
were especially astonished to see the artillery, for they themselves had 
nothing but small brass culverins. Charles traversed their country with- 
out opposition; the gates of Florence and Rome were opened at his 
approach; and Naples submitted, the new king Ferdinand II. having- 
retired to the island oC Ischia. The French monarch next conceived the 
chimerical design of passing into Greece, and attempting the conquest 
of the Empire of the East, in right of the cession made by Andrew 
Palaeologus, nephew of Constantine XII., the last emperor of the Greeks. 
This brilliant project was soon dissipated by a coalition formed against 
him in most of the Italian principalities, and particularly by the alliance 
of Ludovico Sforza of Milan, of the Venetians, and of Pope Alexander 
VI., with Ferdinand of Spain, and Maximilian. Leaving half of his 
forces to garrison Naples, the French king retired towards his own fron- 
tiers, encountering no obstacle until he reached Fornovo in Parma, where 
a numerous body of Venetians opposed his further progress. A decisive 
victory crowned the arms of Charles, who lost only 200 men, while 
4000 of the enemy were left on the field ; and meeting no farther oppo- 
sition, he arrived safely at Lyons. The troops left at Naples were soon 
compelled to capitulate, and Ferdinand II. was restored to his throne. 
Death surprised the conqueror in his preparations for a second expedi- 
tion ; and being childless, he was succeeded, in 1498, by Louis of Or- 
leans, heir of the collateral branch of the house of Valois, which was 
derived from Louis, second son of Charles V. 

BRITAIN. 

House of Lancaster. — Henry IV., 1399, first king of the house ot 
Lancaster, was not the legitimate heir to the English crown in default 
of the direct branch of the Plantagenets, which became extinct in the 
person of Richard II. He was descended from the third son of Edward 
III., and his claims to the throne were consequently inferior to those of 
the sons of the Duke of York, second son of the same monarch. But 
as Henry alone had given birth to the revolution, he determined that 
none but himself should profit by it. His position was not, however, 
without difficulty between the partisans of the late king, those of the 
house of York, and the enemies of his government; so that his whole 
rrign of fourteen years was employed in consolidating his usurpation; 
in punishing the revolts of many of the nobles, and particularly of the 
powerful Earl of Northumberland; in gaining the favour of the clergy 



322 



MIDDLE AGES. 



c 
o 



< - 



° -B 

r * 



5 < 



3 



o 


r 


r 


aj 


Tt" 


c^ 


s- 


O 




c3 


T}< 




u 3 












c3 


fj" 




£ 


s 


1 


II ^ 


^< 


^!< 


CO 


60 




<£> 






CO 


a 










„ 


^ 


• 5- 


>» 


-< 




"3 


r© 




c 

3 


s 


^S 






LS 



— < 



< « 



U 



-3 



M O 



<< 



— < 



^O 



^6 



16 



^ IS 



en .2 



o 
L J 



< 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 323 

by persecuting- the Wickliffites ; and in securing- that of the nation by 
making important concessions to the House of Commons. 

His' son, Henry V., 1413, reaped the fruits of his father's prudence, 
and was, as we have seen, enabled to take advantage of the troubled 
state of France. After showing from the first days of his reign a 
moderation that was not to be expected in one whose youth had been so 
disorderly, he summoned the French king to fulfil the treaty of Bretigny. 
On his refusal, the young monarch called a parliament at Leicester, 1415, 
to which he declared his intention of recovering his inheritance by force. 
On the 14th August, he landed near Harfleur with 6000 men at arms, 
and 24,000 archers. The town and garrison were soon compelled to 
surrender; but dysentery attacked his troops, which were in consequence 
forced to retire upon Calais, through the hostile provinces of Normandy, 
Picardy, and Artois. When they had arrived near Agincourt, a body 
of 100,000 men was discovered ready to oppose them. A dark and 
rainy night depressed the spirits of the English soldiers, who were 
already much enfeebled by disease and want of food ; but brighter hopes 
revived with the dawn, and the confidence of their leader was shared by 
the whole army. "The fewer we are," exclaimed Henry, "the less 
will be the loss to our country if we fall, and the greater our honour if 
we gain the victory." The battle was begun by the archers, who soon 
threw the French into inextricable confusion, and then their lines were 
successively defeated. The loss on the side of the conquerors amount- 
ed to 1600 men, with the Duke of York and the Earl of Suffolk. Of 
the enemy, there perished 8000 knights and esquires, more than 100 
bannerets, seven counts, and the dukes of Bar, Alencon, and Brabant. 
The number of prisoners exceeded that of the whole army w T hich took 
them, among whom were the Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, and the 
Counts of Eu, Vendome, and Richemont. This finished the campaign, 
and when Henry returned, he was conducted from Dover to London in 
one continued triumph. 

In the succeeding spring, he resumed operations in France. Cher- 
bourg opened its gates to him after a siege of six months ; Rouen made 
a desperate resistance for a period nearly equal, during which the in- 
habitants were compelled to eat the most disgusting food. The capitu- 
lation of this city in 1419 spread consternation throughout France. A 
treaty was soon after concluded at Troyes, 1420, by the terms of which 
Henry received the hand of the Princess Catherine, was appointed 
regent of the kingdom during the life of Charles, and was to succeed 
to the French crown at his death. But he did not long enjoy the ad- 
vantages of this treaty ; an inveterate disease carried him off on the 
31st August, 1422, in the same year with his father-in-law. Henry 
was equally celebrated as a statesman and a warrior, — as able to take 
advantage of a victory as to achieve it. The ordinary crown-revenue 
in his time amounted to about £56,000, and the usual outlay to £53,000. 

Henry VI., who was only nine months old at the death of his father, 
was immediately proclaimed in London and Paris ; while the govern- 
ment was carried on in France by the Duke of Bedford, and at home 
by the Duke of Gloucester. The flames of war were soon rekindled on 
the Continent, and at Crevant, on the banks of the Yonne, the united 
French and Scots were defeated, and their respective commanders taken 
prisoners. Shortly after the breaking up of the confederacy between 



324 MIDDLE AGES. 

Charles and his allies, and the restoration of King James I. b< Scotland 
to liberty, the battle of Verneuil was fought, 1424, in which the Eng- 
lish were again successful. But the affairs of Henry in France now 
took an unfavourable turn. Gloucester, by marrying Jacqueline of 
Bavaria, forfeited the alliance of the Duke of Burgundy, and the Duke 
of Brittany was compelled to abandon the English party. At length, 
the Earl of Salisbury crossed the Loire and laid siege to Orleans, during 
the protracted blockade of which, Sir John Falstaif, at the head of 1500 
men, routed a body of 5000 cavalry, under the Earl of Clermont, who 
attacked him at Rouvrai. The garrison was driven to despair, and on 
the point of surrendering, when the extraordinary appearance of Joan 
of Arc completely changed the scene. She performed prodigies of 
valour; but, falling eventually into the hands of her enemies, was burnt 
at the stake in the city of Rouen, 1431. Michelet observes, that while 
this proceeding was disgraceful to the English, it was still more so to 
the French clergy, who, becoming the creatures of the foreigner, show- 
ed the most ferocious dislike to the heroine who had rescued her coun- 
try from bondage. In 1435, the congress of Arras reconciled the great 
vassals of France with their sovereign, and before the close of the same 
year the Duke of Bedford died. His successor, the Duke of York, 
showed neither the same talents nor activity ; and the quarrels which 
broke out between Gloucester and the Cardinal of Winchester, prevent- 
ed England from adopting vigorous measures. 

In each successive campaign, the English were expelled from some 
town of France by Dunois or Richemont. The victor of Agincourt was 
ill replaced by the youthful Henry, whose gentleness rendered him the 
more unsuited to the turbulent period in which he lived. While the 
annual revenue of the crown had fallen to nearly d£5000, several families 
had acquired princely fortunes by marriages and inheritance. The Earl 
of Warwick, the last and most illustrious example of feudal hospitality, 
supported regularly on his estates about thirty thousand individuals ; 
while his immense fortune was maintained by all the talents which the 
head of a party required. His intrepidity was a stranger to the chival- 
rous point of honour ; for although he had not hesitated to attack a fleet 
double the strength of his own, he often fled when he saw his troops 
waver before the enemy. It was observed, too, that although severe 
toward the nobles, he spared the lives of his men in battle. 

The court, too weak to withstand such men as Warwick, seemed to 
take a pleasure in aggravating the discontents of the people. As early 
as 1430, a law had been passed, depriving of the elective franchise all 
freeholders below forty shillings; and, in 1445, Henry's marriage with 
the Princess Margaret, together with the cession of Maine and Anjou, 
rendered him still more unpopular. Scarcely two years after this event, 
the good Duke of Gloucester was found dead in his bed ; and, in 1 151, 
Calais was the only town in France which the English were able to 
retain. The favourite, Suffolk, lost his life at the hands of the offended 
people, for the supposed share he had in these reverses. At the same 
time, a formidable rising took place in Kent, under the management of 
Cade, and London itself fell into the power of the insurgents, though in 
a few days they all returned to their homes. The rebel displayed his 
banner a second time, but not with the same good fortune ; he was pur- 
sued and slain at Lewes. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 325 

Wars of the Roses. — In 1452, Richard, duke of York, openly pro- 
claimed his designs on the throne, and appeared in arms to enforce them, 
though each side hesitated to strike the first blow. However, in 1454, 
when Henry VI. was attacked by a mental disease which rendered him 
incapable of governing, Richard, being recalled to the council, was 
named Protector ; but on the king's recovery, he was again compelled 
to quit the court. He then put himself at the head of 3000 men in the 
marshes of Wales, being aided by the Duke of Norfolk and the Earls 
of Salisbury and Warwick. The king advanced against him, and a 
battle took place at St. Albans, in which the royalists were defeated. 
Henry was wounded, and fell into the hands of the conqueror, who 
treated him with respect, but seized anew on all his authority, under the 
former title of Protector. In 1460, Queen Margaret undertook to defend 
a second time the rights of the crown, but she was vanquished by War- 
wick at Northampton, and her husband again became a prisoner. 
Richard now laid before the peers his claims to the throne, which they 
recognised as legitimate, declaring, that as Henry had already wielded 
the sceptre thirty-eight years, he should preserve it until his death, and 
that in the mean while the Duke of York, being acknowledged heir, 
should administer the government of the country. Margaret, in behalf 
of the Prince of Wales, refused to ratify this act, supporting her refusal 
with an army of 20,000 men. Richard, with only 5000 followers, im- 
prudently hazarded a battle, in which he was defeated and killed at 
Wakefield, 14G0. After this important victory, the queen divided her 
forces, and sent part under the Earl of Pembroke against Edward, earl 
of March, the eldest son of York. This young prince triumphed over 
his adversaries at Mortimer's Cross, killing about 4000 of their troops. 
Owen Tudor, Pembroke's father, and who had married Catherine, widow 
of Henry V., was taken prisoner, and, with seven other chiefs, beheaded 
at Hereford. This barbarous practice, which became customary on both 
sides, consecrated private revenge under the name of just retaliation. 

The struggle was now almost at an end, and although Margaret was 
victorious at St. Albans, she was compelled to retire towards the north, 
while York was proclaimed king at London, under the title of Edward 
IV., 4th March 1461.* 

Edward was scarcely seated on the throne before he was compelled 
to march against the Lancastrians, whom he defeated near Towton, with 
immense loss, quarters being refused on both sides. As soon as these 
pressing dangers were removed, the king in council announced his pri- 
vate marriage with Elizabeth, the widow of Sir John Grey, a beautiful 
woman, daughter of Jacquetta of Luxemburg, duchess of Bedford, by 
her second marriage with Sir Richard Woodville. The queen's rela- 
tions and friends soon obtained the principal offices about the court, and 
Warwick, who had been the chief means of placing Edward on the 

* It has been observed that usually the weakening of the regal power and great poli- 
tical troubles in a state are accompanied with financial difficulties. This remark applies 
especially to the reign of Henry VI. The hereditary revenues of the crown had long 
been decreasing; but under this monarch they diminished still more rapidly, owing to 
the enormous expenses of the French wars and tbe personal extravagance of the king, 
In 1429, the money absorbed annually by the war exceeded the revenue by nearly 
£14,000; and, four years later, there was an annual deficiency of £35,000 sterling, 
which, with the debts of the crown, exceeded £140,000. Despite of the measures adopted 
to remedy this state of affairs, the evil still augmented ; and the deficit was nearly 
tripled before the end of Henry's reign, 

28 



326 MIDDLE AGES. 

throne, fell into disgrace. He retired to France, where he strengthened 
his party by giving his daughter Isabella to the Duke of Clarence, the 
king's brother. Both soon afterwards returned to England, which they 
found in a state of insurrection, and battles, truces, and negotiations fol- 
lowed in succession. At length, in 1470, Warwick, surnamed the King- 
maker, expelled the monarch whom he had created, and brought Henry 
VI. from his prison to be reseated on his throne by the unanimous voice 
3f parliament, — a body, however, which at this time seldom failed to 
respond to the wishes of the strongest party. 

This restoration was the consequence of an agreement made by War- 
wick at the court of Louis XI. with Queen Margaret, whose son had 
been married to one of the earl's daughters. The conditions were, that 
if the Prince of Wales died without issue, Clarence should succeed ; 
Warwick thus securing the cro\vn in his own family. But he was dis- 
appointed in his schemes; for Edward, who had taken refuge in the 
Low Countries, returned, and soon found himself at the head of 60,000 
men, by whose aid he was victorious at Barnet, where Warwick and all 
the Lancastrian chiefs, except Somerset and Oxford, were killed, 1471. 
On the very day of this disastrous battle, Margaret and her son landed 
at Weymouth with a small body of French troops. The king defeated 
them at Tewkesbury, and the young prince, who was made prisoner, 
was stabbed in his presence. Henry VI. shortly after perished in the 
Tower, and the Duke of Exeter was secretly put to death, his body being 
found floating betw T een Dover and Calais. Some years afterwards, Ed- 
ward procured a decree of the parliament,* condemning his brother 
Clarence to death for high treason. A report was circulated that he had 
been drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. 

After such turbulent scenes, Edward relapsed into his former volup- 
tuous life, from which he was aroused, for a moment, by the prospect of 
a great conquest. In 1475, he united with the Dukes of Burgundy and 
Brittany against Louis XI. ; but his efforts soon terminated in the treaty 
of Pecquigny, by wmich the French king agreed to pay 75,000 crowns, 
with an annuity of 50,000 more, while he ransomed Margaret with a 
noble generosity. In 1483, Edward IV. expired, leaving behind him 
the character of an accomplished gentleman, but of a revengeful and 
suspicious king. 

Edward V., then in his twelfth year, succeeded to the throne, the 
Duke of Gloucester being made protector. The queen-mother, who saw 
in this proceeding the ruin of her family, took refuge in the sanctuary 
of Westminster. By persuasion and menace, Gloucester succeeded in 
lodging the two young princes in the Tow T er, as a place of greater secu- 
rity. It appears also to have been customary for the sovereigns to take 
up their residence in that fortress some time before their coronation. 
The ambitious duke had already procured the execution or disgrace of 

*The independence of parliament was in abeyance during the civil wars: the abso- 
lute spirit of military discipline had passed into the government, with which terror 
seemed to be the mainspring of action. The Lords and the Commons always appeared 
ready to second Edward's despotic measures; and no statute was passed during his. 
reign for the redressins: of grievances or the maintenance of the national privileges. In 
the preceding reisrn, the manner of elections had undergone some modifications. Henry 
IV., to win popularity, had so greatly increased the number of voters, that the elections 
were become a source of danger and disturbance, Henry VT., or rather the Duke of 
Gloucester, who governed in his name, confined the elective franchise, in counties, to 
the 40s, freeholders, a sum not less than .£45 of our money. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. .'327 

those whom he feared, and now, by the most unwarrantable means, 
endeavoured to induce the citizens of London to name him king. Al- 
though they did not respond to his wishes so readily as he might have 
expected, he nevertheless assumed the crown, and put an end to the 
brief reign of Edward V. 

Richard III. ascended the throne June 26, 1483, sealing his usurpa- 
tion by the murder of his nephews, whose liberation their friends in 
London were already meditating.* The news of this crime spread hor- 
ror among all parties, and the adherents of the young princes fixed their 
attention on Henry, Earl of Richmond, heir to the house of Lancaster. 
An ill-timed insurrection in his behalf drew down all the wrath of the 
usurper ; but the latter was gradually deserted by most of his support- 
ers, Catesby and others of a similar class alone remaining faithful. At 
length, Richmond landed with an army of 3000 Normans, and being 
generally aided by the English, he was successful at the battle of Bos- 
worth, in which the tyrant fell, after a reign of two years, marked by a 
succession of cruel executions. 

Tudor Line. — Henry VII., 1485, in order to put an end to the civil 
contest that for more than half a century had deluged England with 
blood, married the Princess Elizabeth, heiress of the house of York. 
Nor was such a measure unnecessary, for he had to contend against the 
impostures of Lambert Simnel, whom, after some trouble, he defeated 
at Stoke in Nottinghamshire, 16th June 1487. f The king took ad- 
vantage of this revolt to abolish the dangerous and illegal practice of 
" maintenance," that is, the association of individuals under a chief, 
whose livery they wore, and whose cause they swore to defend. Such 
Jeagues gave the nobles means of expeditiously raising troops, and of 
favouring insurrection or usurpation. The preceding parliament had 
ordered all the lords to swear to renounce this usage, and to receive no 
longer into their service men publicly known as vagabonds, murderers, 
felons, or outlaws ; and in that held in 1487, it was further enacted that 
the chancellor, the treasurer, the keeper of the privy seal, with one tem- 
poral and one spiritual peer, and the judges of King's Bench and Com- 
mon Pleas, should have authority to call before them persons accused 
of violating this law, and to inflict punishment on them. Their place 
of meeting was a chamber decorated with stars, and hence the tribunal 
acquired the appellation of the Star-chamber. 

About this time Henry's attention was drawn to France, where Charles 
VIII., at the age of fourteen, had succeeded his father Louis XI. in 1483 ; 
and although the affairs of Brittany were settled without the aid of Eng- 
land, he nevertheless landed at Calais with an army of 25,000 men and 
1600 horse. He marched to Boulogne, which he invested ; but the war 
was soon terminated by the French monarch agreeing to pay £149,000 
sterling to the invader, as an equivalent for his claims on Brittany. The 

* In July 1674, iii consequence of an order to clear the White Tower from the adjoin- 
ing buildings, as the workmen were digging down the stairs which led from the kind's 
apartment to the chapel, they found the bones of two boys, apparently of the age of the 
two princes, viz. thirteen and eleven years; which were conseqiientlv deposited in the 
chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster. 

fLord Lovell escaped from this battle, and was never seen afterwards. About the 
end of the 17th century, there was found in a subterraneous chamber at Lovell Castle, 
Oxfordshire, the skeleton of a man sitting in a chair. It has been supposed that his 
'ordship had concealed himself there, and perished for want of food. 



328 



MIDDLE AGES. 



§ a 




FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 329 

king's repose was soon after troubled by the intrigues of the Duchess 
of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV., and whose court was the asylum of 
all the disaffected. Spreading the report that Richard of York had not 
perished with his brother in the Tower, she put forward Perkin War- 
beck, the son of a converted Jew, who had resided many years in Eng- 
land. The vulgar were easily deceived by the polished manners of this 
adventurer, and by the elegance of his language. He was well received 
in Ireland,* and protected by the kings of France and Scotland; but 
several partial insurrections terminated his designs, and, after imprison- 
ment, he perished on the scaffold, 1499. In the same year, another 
insurrection in Warwickshire broke out, when, in order to crush entirely 
the hopes of the malcontents, the Earl of Warwick, the last legitimate 
descendant of the Plantagenets, was executed by Henry's order. 

Let the pupil draw up : A genealogical table of the houses of York and 
Lancaster. 

Scotland. — This country enjoyed few intervals of repose from that anarchy 
to which it had been very long subjected. This evil originated in the excessive 
power of the nobles, sovereigns on their own estates, and almost always at war 
with one another or with the king, who, having but a scanty revenue and no per- 
manent forces, exercised at the best a very precarious authority. Such disorder 
was most prevalent on the English Border and in the Highlands, two great, 
divisions of Scotland which were yet in a state of barbarism. The inhabitants 
of the mountains were distinguished from the rest of the nation by their man- 
ners, dress, and language. They spoke, as many still speak to this day, a 
Celtic dialect, the Gaelic, unintelligible to the Lowlanders, whose language 
differed little from the English. They were divided into tribes or clans, each 
denominated after some ancient chief whom his followers considered as their 
common ancestor. For example, the MacDonalds and the MacGregors were 
esteemed the sons of Donald and of Gregor. Besides their almost incessant 
struggles one with another, these mountaineers were in perpetual hostility with 
the dwellers in the plains, whom they hated as Saxons and usurpers of the 
country that had belonged to their forefathers. Many Highland chiefs assumed 
the privileges of independent monarchs. The most powerful of these was the 
Earl of Ross, lord of the Isles, who was considered the absolute sovereign of 
the Hebrides. The Borderers were no less turbulent than the mountaineers, 
to whom, in their manners, they bore a great resemblance. They were divided 
into clans under particular chiefs, lived on the booty plundered from England 
or the central counties of Scotland, and trampled under foot the respect due to 
the laws and regal government. Under the Stuarts, in despite of the wise laws 
enacted by parliament! to destroy or diminish the evil, the ambition of the 
Douglas family, dissensions in the court, and numerous minorities of the crown, 
perpetuated this unsettled condition. 

James III. of Scotland, 1460, was not less zealous than his two im- 
mediate predecessors in his endeavours to diminish the power of the 
aristocracy ; but instead of keeping these chiefs around him, and re- 
pressing their violence by firmness of character, he drove them from his 
presence, and passed his time in comparative seclusion at Stirling, sur- 



*On the occasion of these attempts of Perkin, Sir Edward Poynings, sent into Ireland 
to repress the troubles, assembled a parliament in Dublin, which enacted the famous 
statute known as Poynings' Act, and which forms an epoch in the history of Ireland, 
with reference to the English dominion. This act declared, that all the statutes of the 
English parliament should be law in Ireland, and that the Irish parliament should not 
meet without the permission of the King of England, and after assigning the motives 
of such convocation. 

J Tn the Scotch parliament, the nobles, prelates, and commons sat in one chamber, and 
voted as members of the same bodv. 



330 MIDDLE AGES. 

rounded by men of low extraction, with whom he occupied himself in 
the study of architecture, music, and other arts. The nobles, indignant 
at the choice of his favourites, plotted against him ; but the treason was 
discovered : John, earl of Mar, brother of the king, was assassinated ; 
Alexander, duke of Albany, another brother, escaped from Edinburgh 
castle, and took refuge in England. In consequence of the intrigues of 
this fugitive with Edward IV., in which Albany assumed the title of 
King of Scotland, and bound himself, if the English monarch would 
furnish him with the means of establishing his claim, to do homage to 
him, the Duke of Gloucester marched northwards at the head of a 
numerous army, which compelled James to implore the aid of his barons. 
These readily assembled in arms, less with the intention of repelling 
foreign invasion than of obtaining satisfaction for their own injuries. 
They resolved on the death of the king's favourites, and executed their 
design in the camp near Lauder, with all the promptitude and vigour of 
military men. James, unable to rely on an army so turbulent, disband- 
ed it, and taking refuge in Edinburgh castle, soon became reconciled 
with the Duke of Albany. But his majesty had not learnt wisdom 
from the late transactions ; and a decree forbidding the wearing of arms 
within the royal palace, together with the formation of a permanent 
body-guard, drove the nobles to revolt, who placed at their head the 
Duke of Rothesay, the eldest of his children. This imminent danger 
drew the monarch from his retirement : He marched against the rebels, 
and, being defeated at Sauchieburn, a few miles from Stirling, was 
assassinated in a miller's cottage. 1488. The general indignation ex- 
cited by this atrocious murder compelled the conspirators to use their 
victory with moderation. James IV. succeeded to the throne; and in 
his reign, the enmity which had frequently displayed itself between the 
sovereign and the nobility was almost forgotten. Far from dreading 
the power of the aristocracy, he considered it the best support of the 
throne; and by his confidence gained their aid in all his enterprises. 

ITALIAN PENINSULA. 

Naples. — In the twelfth century, the kingdom of Naples passed in 
succession to the Normans, and to the German Hohenstaufens ; and in 
the thirteenth, to the house of Anjou. This dynasty governed until 
1382, when Joan I. adopted the younger brother of Charles V. of France, 
Louis I, of Anjou, who was, however, 'deprived of the crown by Charles, 
duke of Durazzo, the direct heir. Thus began those wars between the 
second house of Anjou and the family of Durazzo, which led to the 
invasion of Italy and the long struggle between France and the Empire. 
Louis I., in 1383, and next Louis II., in 1390, invaded the kingdom, 
but without success. A second Joan, sister of Ladislaus who succeed 
ed Charles of Durazzo, revived this war, when its embers were nearly 
extinct, by adopting in turn Alphonso V., king of Aragon and Sicily, 
and Louis III. of Anjou. When Joan and Louis died in 1435, Rene of 
Anjou, duke of Lorraine and count of Provence, opposed Alphonso V., 
and was for a brief period master of Naples; but, in 1442, he was 
driven out by the latter sovereign, who received the investiture of his 
new kingdom from the pope. Alphonso died in 1458, leaving to his 
natural son Ferdinand the kingdom of Naples, and to his brother John 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 331 

II. (the usurper of Navarre) Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, with the 
Balearic Isles, Sardinia, and Sicily. 

Alphonso V., surnamed the Magnanimous, was not only a skilful and for- 
tunate warrior, but the protector of letters. In his liberality originated the 
chief delects of his government ; for perpetually embarrassed in consequence 
of his profuse generosity, he was obliged either to oppress his subjects with 
taxes, or sell his patronage contrary to the good administration of his kingdom. 
Lavishly conferring new titles, he extended the prerogatives of the nobles, so 
as to aggravate the evils of vassalage, and weaken the authority of the crown ; 
but in spite of these faults, he deserves to be considered one of the greatest and 
most worthy monarchs that adorned the fifteenth century. 

At the summons of the Neapolitan barons, John of Anjou, son of 
Rene, in 1459, opposed himself to Ferdinand, who, being defeated in 
the battle of Sarno, 1460, was only saved from destruction by Francis 
Sforza and Scanderbeg, the latter of whom Alphonso had often aided 
against the Turks, and who now repaid to the son the assistance he had 
received from the father. The victory of Troja in Apulia, however, 
seated Ferdinand securely on the throne. The conqueror now began to 
oppress the supporters of his rival ; and the hatred excited by his cruel- 
ties was increased during his long reign by numerous acts of treachery 
and violence. In 1485, the nobles revolted against him ; but he dis- 
armed them by an insidious peace, and arresting the most dangerous, 
caused them to be secretly put to death. Those who escaped his ven- 
geance by flight spread throughout Italy the odium of his name. 

Florence. — Towards the end of the fourteenth century, the triumph 
of the Albizzi faction deprived the Medici of all influence. John of that 
name restored his family in 1420, having acquired immense riches, and 
become chief magistrate. In 142G, when the nobles had formed the 
design of usurping all the power of the state, he alone refused to second 
their project, and thereby raised his popularity to the greatest height. 
Cosmo I. inherited the talents of his father, but neglecting his sage 
counsels, was banished in 1433. Being recalled the following year, the 
Albizzi were all proscribed, and he preserved the supreme authority 
until his death in 1464. His fellow-citizens conferred on him the title 
of" Father of his Country," — a distinction worthy of his zeal to main- 
tain peace at home as well as abroad, and of the noble uses to which he 
applied his wealth, in building palaces, founding monasteries and 
hospitals, forming libraries, and extending to letters and the arts that 
protection which became hereditary in his family. This distinguished 
merchant was at the head of one hundred and twenty-eight commercial 
houses in Europe, Asia, and Africa. 

Pietro de Medici had neither the experience nor the talent required to 
accomplish the objects contemplated by his predecessor; but when 
Soderini, the gonfalonier of justice, had sought the alliance of the Duke 
of Modena to dethrone Pietro, the latter gave such proofs of firmness as 
disconcerted his enemies, and enabled him to proscribe the most illus- 
trious families. Lorenzo and Julian, though young, were recognised as 
their father's successors; and, during seven years, Florence enjoyed 
peace under their government. Among the chief persons of the city the 
Pazzi held the first rank, and these Cosmo had desired to attach to his 
party by bonds of marriage. Lorenzo, surnamed " the Magnificent," 
pursuing a different line of conduct, spared no exertions to ruin their 



332 MIDDLE AGES. 

fortunes ; and hence a conspiracy to murder the Medici and change the 
government was eagerly entered into by these persecuted men.* The 
brothers were attacked in the cathedral church: Julian was killed, but 
Lorenzo escaped to take a bloody revenge on the assassins, 1478. The 
war which sprung out of this conspiracy lasted nearly three years. 

Lorenzo died in 1492, beloved by his subjects, respected abroad, and 
deeply lamented on account of the skill with which he had held the 
balance among the other powers of Italy. His taste for the arts and 
literature procured him the title of " Father of the Muses ;" but his 
luxury, together with the bad management of his commercial transac- 
tions, entirely absorbed the immense fortune of the Medici. During 
many years, the public revenues contributed to cover their losses; and, 
at last, to prevent their bankruptcy, the state itself became insolvent, 
1490. The interest of the debt, then fixed at three per cent., was 
reduced to one and a half; a number of charitable foundations were 
suppressed; and the coin in circulation was received in payment of 
taxes at one-fifth below its nominal value, and reissued at its full 
amount. 

The Roman State. — The abdication of the antipope, Clement VIII. , 
in 1429, terminated the great schism of fifty-one years. Martin V. 
alone retained the tiara, by whom the council of Basle was convoked in 
1431. His successor, Eugenius IV., alarmed at the attacks made by 
this body upon his prerogative, convened in succession the synods of 
Ferrara and Florence, a proceeding which gave rise to another separa- 
tion, — the fathers of Basle deposing him, and electing Amadeus of 
Savoy as Felix V. In 1438, the French adopted several decrees of the 
council of Basle, by the famous pragmatic sanction which Charles VII. 
drew up at Bourges; and their example was imitated by the Germans, 
who accepted the same decrees at the diet of Mentz, 1439, since which 
time the popes had used every exertion to obtain their revocation. 
Nicholas V., who succeeded Eugenius in 1447, substituted the Germanic 
concordat for that of Mentz ; but the joy this event caused was clouded 
by the conspiracy of Stephano Porcari, and by the fall of Constantinople. 
Several attempts were made by Calixtus III., Pius II., and Paul II., to 
excite the Christians to another Crusade, but they all completely failed. 
The Cardinal Francis de la Rovera, exalted to the pontificate under the 
title of Sixtus IV., was more occupied in the aggrandizement of his 
family than in promoting the interests of the church. Innocent VIII. 
succeeded in 1484, — a prelate of easy life and manners, entirely governed 
by favourites, and who made every thing a matter of money. After him 
the infamous Borgia, Alexander VI., for eleven years disgraced St. 
Peter's chair. His simoniacal election, 1492, and the knowledge of his 
character, spread general consternation. 

Venice. — The taking of Constantinople by the Turks threatened the 
destruction of the Venetian colonies in the East. At first the republic 
was allowed to have an ambassador in that capital; but in 1463, her 
leaders began a war, which, after sixteen years, was terminated by an 
unfavourable treaty. It was during these hostilities that Venice obtained 

* Conspiracy at this period seemed to be the constitutional mode of reforming a bad 
government. In three years, historians reckon one at Ferrara, two at Genoa, one a< 
Milan and one at Florence. 



FIFTEENTH (KNTURY A. D. 333 

possession of Cyprus. This islo had been givjgn by Richard Coeur de 
Lion to Guy of Lusignan, whose descendants occupied the throne 266 
years. The last of these, John III., died in 1458, leaving an only 
daughter, Charlotte, who succeeded, and whose husband, Louis of 
Savoy, brother of Duke Amadeus IX., shared the honours of the crown. 
James, a natural son of John III., supported by the Sultan of Egypt, 
Malek-Ella, to whom the kings of Cyprus were tributary, dethroned 
them both in 1460. The usurper, threatened by the knights of St. John 
and the Genoese, sought the aid of Venice by marrying Catherine Cor- 
naro, niece of Andrew Cornaro, a patrician, whose family had extensive 
estates in the island, 1471. The senate, to honour this union, adopted 
Catherine, declaring her " daughter of St. Mark," that is, of the republic. 
James died two years after, and the queen, owing to her foreign extrac- 
tion, being unpopular among the Cypriots, the Venetians, in her name, 
reduced the island under their power in 1474, leaving to her little beyond 
the pomp of royalty. Their hold on this conquest was confirmed by 
Catherine's abdication in 1489 and the investiture given them by the 
Sultan of Egypt. While the republicans were thus extending their 
sway over Cyprus, aggrandizement in Italy was not neglected by them. 
They acquired by wars and treaties Gallipoli and Policastro, Polesina 
and the territory of Rovigo ; for at this period their armies were scarcely 
less powerful on land than their fleets at sea. The population was nu- 
merous, the finances well administered ; and this was the first state that, 
by government loans, had attached the rich to the commonwealth by the 
great bond of the public funds. Her manufactures in gold, silver, and 
silk, were much esteemed ; but the time of her fall drew near, when the 
commerce of Asia, turned from its ancient course, went to enrich the 
nations of the West. 

Milan and Genoa. — A labourer of Cotignola, named Attendolo, 
becoming a soldier at the beginning of the fifteenth century, passed 
rapidly through all the degrees of military rank, and became the most 
famous captain of the age. With 7000 volunteers who followed his 
banner, he delivered Joan II. of Naples from the hands of Alphonso of 
Aragon, for which he was made constable of the kingdom and gonfalo- 
nier of the Roman church. A premature death by drowning terminated 
his honourable career. He had changed his name to Sforza, which he 
transmitted to his natural son Francis, inheritor of his talents and cou- 
rage, who had married Bianca, natural daughter of Philip-Maria, last 
of the Visconti dukes of Milan. On his father-in-law's death, 1447, he 
claimed the inheritance in opposition to the Duke of Savoy, the King 
of Naples, the republic of Venice, and Charles of Orleans. The Mila- 
nese abolished the ducal power, and established a republic, nominating 
their own magistrates, and appointing Sforza commander of their troops. 
In this post he succeeded in restoring the title of duke, and reigned until 
the year 1466. The greatest princes sought his alliance ; his daughter 
Hippolyta married Alphonso of Naples, and Louis XI. ceded to him the 
city of Genoa. His son and successor Galeazzo, by his pride and des- 
potism, excited an insurrection in which he perished, 1476. Under his 
infant heir John Galeazzo, two uncles disturbed the public tranquillity ; 
they were, however, eventually banished. About this time the Genoese 
revolted and recovered their liberty ; but Prospero Adorno, the mover of 
the revolution, having abused his victory by putting some of his oppo 



334 MIDDLE AGES. 

nents to death, fled from the city, and Battista Fregosa was proclaimed 
doge. In 1479, one of the uncles of the Duke Galeazzo, known as 
Ludovico the Moor, made himself master of Tortona. Having been 
called to Milan to act as counterpoise to the favourite minister Simoneta, 
he soon put that officer to death, declaring that his nephew, a child of 
twelve years, had attained his majority ; from which time Ludovico in 
reality governed in the name of his ward. In 1488, Genoa again be- 
came a Milanese dependency, although Sforza had the prudence to hold 
it as a fief of the French crown, the investiture of which he received two 
years after. 

The other states of Italy do not require to be mentioned in detail : it 
will be sufficient merely to note their existence. The Counts of Savoy 
were attached to France. Duke Philip II. was of great use to Charles 
VIII. in his Italian expedition, for which he was created high-chamber- 
lain and grand-master of the palace. The marquisates of Montferrat 
and Saluzzo were not yet united to Savoy ; while Parma and Piacenza 
formed a portion of the Milanese territory. The house of Este reigned 
in Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio; the Gonzagas at Mantua; the Picos 
at Mirandola ; the Malatestas at Rimini; the Malaspinas at Massa and 
Carrara; the Grimaldis at Monaco; and the Montfeltros at Urbino : all 
of which states, with the small republics of Lucca and Sienna, were 
dragged into the common vortex of political commotion. 

Never had Italy been happier or more flourishing than at the epoch 
of the French invasion in 1494. Ruled by native-born princes, inde- 
pendent of all foreign influence, exempt from internal troubles, she had 
carried the sciences, letters, and the arts to the highest degree of perfec- 
tion. Enriched by agriculture and commerce, she possessed the most 
brilliant courts, the most magnificent cities; and her pleasures, the 
natural result of long prosperity, had attained a degree of delicacy and 
refinemen unknown to the rest of Europe. But this deceitful exterior 
concealed those vices which usually indicate the decline of nations, — 
effeminacy, perfidy, cowardice, and corruption. She carried in her bosom 
the seeds of ruin, which the concord maintained by the ascendency of 
two wise rulers, Pope Innocent VIII. and Lorenzo de Medici, alone 
prevented for a time from bursting forth. But these two monarchs 
expiring about the same period, in 1492, the equilibrium was destroyed, 
and Italy doomed to experience the horrors of internal discord and 
foreign invasion. 

SPANISH PENINSULA. 

Navarre. — In 1419, John II., second son of Ferdinand the Just, king 
of Aragon, had married Blanche, daughter and heiress of Charles III., 
king of Navarre, of the house of Evreux. When the latter monarch 
died, in 1435, the crown passed to the family of John, who had one son, 
Don Carlos, prince of Viana, and two daughters, Blanche married to 
Henry IV. of Castile, and Leonora the wife of Gaston IV., count of 
Foix. On the death of his mother in 1441, Carlos ought to have 
inherited the crown of Navarre, but as this would have compelled his 
father to descend from his high station, he not less wisely than affec- 
tionately left the supreme power in his hands. The king having taken 
a second wife, Joanna Henriquez, daughter of the Admiral of Castile, 
had a son, who is known in history as Ferdinand the Catholic. At the 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 335 

instigation of his consort, John endeavoured to secure the succession to 
his younger son, and for this purpose deprived Carlos of all share in 
public business. After enduring the most unworthy treatment, this 
victim of an ambitious stepmother took up arms, but was defeated in 
battle near Aibar, 1452. Being- taken prisoner, he was shut up in a 
strong castle, whence he was delivered only at the earnest intercession 
of the Navarrese states. In 1 3 56, the queen, who had sworn the de- 
struction of the prince, aided her husband in forming an alliance with 
his son-in-law, the Count of Foix, against him, by which it was agreed 
that John should possess the crown of Navarre during his life, and that 
it should afterwards pass to the Count and Countess of Foix, to the 
prejudice of Don Carlos, and Blanche, queen of Castile. This injustice 
drove him a second time to arms ; but the fortune of war turning once 
more against him, he went to Paris and Naples, to solicit the mediation 
of Charles VII. and Alphonso V. During his absence, his supporters 
again proclaimed him king, though bloodshed was avoided by the inter- 
position of the latter monarch, whose death unfortunately removed all 
chance of reconciliation. Other reverses followed, but eventually the 
injustice of John augmented so greatly the number of his son's sup- 
porters, that, at Barcelona, the latter was proclaimed heir, and intrusted 
with the perpetual lieutenancy of Catalonia. He did not live to enjoy 
this elevation ; and his death, in 1461, has been attributed to various 
causes, — to poison administered by Joanna, of to grief at being the con- 
tinued object of paternal hatred. His sister, Blanche, whom he had 
named his successor, was not long after imprisoned by her father and 
deprived of life. The Catalonians becoming alarmed for their liberties, 
never spoke but with abhorrence of the homicidal monarch, and with 
euthusiasm of their governor, that noble victim of unnatural ambition, 
or, as he was already esteemed, that " holy martyr," to whom the super- 
stitious attributed numerous miracles. It was in order to raise money 
for punishing these insurgents, that the king sold the provinces of Rous- 
sillon and Cerdagne to Louis XI. for 300,000 gold crowns. John II. 
died in 1479, and was succeeded by his daughter Eleonora, who 
occupied the throne less than a year, after which it passed to the house 
of Foix, in the person of Francis Phoebus, her grandson. 

Aragon. — With the death of Martin in 1410 ended the house of Bar- 
celona, which had filled the throne 273 years. Five claimants to the 
sovereignty now appeared ; but, in 1412, the estates decided in favour 
of Ferdinand of Castile, whose son Alphonso the Magnanimous con- 
quered Naples in 1442. At the death of Alphonso in 1458, his natural 
son Ferdinand succeeded to the throne of Naples, and Aragon devolved 
on his brother John II. The son of the last monarch, Ferdinand the 
Catholic, by his marriage with Isabella of Castile, united the two kino-, 
doms in 1479. 

Castile. — Henry III., while projecting a war against the King of 
Granada, died in 140G, leaving behind him an infant son of only fourteen 
months. In such circumstances Ferdinand, the king's brother, was 
solicited by the estates to assume the crown, but he refused, and caused 
his nephew to be proclaimed as John II. The uncle, however, held the 
regency till 1412, when he was called to the throne of Aragon to suc- 
ceed Martin, who had left no children. His place as regent was supplied 
by Alvarez de Luna, who, in a short time, excited disaffection by the 



336 MIDDLE AGES. 

severity of his government. Aided by Henry, infant of Aragon, who 
resided in Castile, the powerful nobles took Toledo by surprise, urged 
the Prince of Asturias to revolt, and at last constrained John to make 
concessions. But Don Juan Pachecho engaged the prince to support the 
cause of his father John II. , who was soon at the head of an army which 
defeated the rebels in the battle of Olmedo, where Henry of Aragon 
fell, 1444. The prince, displeased at seeing Alvarez restored to favour, 
again revolted, when the latter was banished from the court and put to 
death. 

Henry IV. succeeded his father in 1454, and his reign presented simi- 
lar vicissitudes. He invaded Granada with an army of 50,000 men ; 
but no conquests were made of sufficient importance to defray the ex- 
penses of the war. Returning from this expedition, Henry, who had 
repudiated his first wife, Blanche of Navarre, espoused Joanna of Por- 
tugal. In the Castilian court the greatest corruption prevailed ; the king 
indulged in every kind of license, and the new queen followed the con- 
tagious example. By this means the affections of his subjects were 
alienated, and a storm was gathering which could not fail eventually to 
burst on the two sovereigns. A few trifling though fortunate expedi- 
tions against the Moors retarded the catastrophe ; but, in 14G5, the nobles, 
with the Archbishop of Toledo at their head, proclaimed Alphonso, the 
king's brother, their new T sovereign. 

The cowardly monarch, Henry, entered into an accommodation with 
the rebels, by which he sacrificed his daughter, the Princess Joanna 
(whose parentage appeared somewhat doubtful), and adopted Alphonso 
as his heir. New dissensions followed this arrangement, until 1465, 
when a civil war broke out ; but its cruelties were in a measure softened 
by the interposition of the pope, and it was terminated by the death of 
Alphonso in 1468. The factious nobles after this proclaimed Henry's 
sister Isabella ; but she refused to accept a title that did not belong to 
her while her brother lived. In 1469, this princess, whose hand had 
been sought by the King of Portugal and the Duke of Guienne, secretly 
married Ferdinand of Aragon. Henry immediately annulled the union 
by a solemn decree, to which no one paid any respect, and the country 
was once more plunged into all the horrors of a civil strife, which con- 
tinued until his death in 1474. In the preceding year, he endeavoured 
to remedy some of the abuses that had accumulated during his unfortu- 
nate reign. The revenues of the crown being extremely diminished, he 
revoked all the donations made during the last ten years, — an arrange- 
ment that became ineffectual from the number and strength of the inte- 
rested parties. He also dissolved various brotherhoods or congregations, 
established with dangerous views; confirming these only which were 
founded for the security of the kingdom against the bands of robbers 
that everywhere devastated it. Finally, he suppressed all tolls and other 
tributes of that kind, arbitrarily established by the nobles in their do- 
mains, and which gave rise to innumerable vexations. 

Joanna was left heiress to the crown, and her cause was warmly 
espoused by her uncle, Alphonso V. of Portugal. She was supported 
in Castile, chiefly by the malcontents who had formerly contested her 
legitimacy, but who now dreaded the firmness of Isabella. The victory 
of Toro, in 1476, gave the throne to the latter, and Joanna, deserted by 
her partisans, retired to a convent in Coimbra, 1479. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D 337 

In the same year expired John II., king of Aragon, whose states, com- 
prising Aragon Proper, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, the Balearic Isles, 
Sardinia, and Sicily, descended to Ferdinand, by whom they were united 
to Castile. 

Aragon and Castile. — The moment that Ferdinand and Isabella 
assumed the reins of government, the state of their dominions was 
changed. Crime, even in the highest ranks, ceased to be unpunished, 
and the execution of robbers and assassins snowed the people that vio- 
lence would be replaced by order and justice. The organization of the 
" Holy Brotherhood" (Santa Hermandad), destined for the repression 
of murder and theft, was perfected. In Galicia, where the nobles exer- 
cised the greatest tyranny, forty-six strongholds were demolished, and 
the property stolen from the royal domains, the churches, monasteries, 
and private persons, was restored. 

After having thus destroyed faction and strengthened their own power, 
the Catholic sovereigns, for by that title were they known, began to 
carry into execution their long-meditated plan of expelling the Moors 
from Spain. Muley Ali Abulhassan, who at this time occupied the 
Moorish throne, began the war with the surprise of Zahara, 1481, which 
was immediately retaliated by the capture of Alhama. The successes 
were for a long time balanced, until one imprudent step drove the infidel 
to ruin. Captivated by the charms of a Christian slave, he repudiated 
his wife Ayesha, who belonged to one of the chief tribes, and had borne 
him several sons, all of whom he ordered to be destroyed for the purpose 
of securing the succession to the issue of his second marriage. One only 
escaped, the celebrated Boabdil (Abu-Abdallah), who was shortly after 
proclaimed king by a party of discontented nobles, and Abulhassan was 
driven from his capital. A cruel civil war forthwith commenced, and 
while the Moors were thus weakening their own resources, Ferdinand 
pursued a victorious career. Ten years were spent in a sanguinary con- 
test before the Christians were enabled to besiege Granada, which they 
invested with a chosen army of 50,000 men, when a blockade of nine 
months compelled the inhabitants to surrender, and in January, 1492, 
Isabella and Ferdinand made their triumphal entry into a city whose 
capture almost compensated for the previous loss of Constantinople. To 
Gonzalvo de Cordova, a distinguished leader of the Christian host, was 
intrusted the adjustment of the articles of capitulation, which were highly 
honourable to both parties. They provided that the vanquished should 
be governed by their own laws, preserve their customs, judges, and 
liberty of worship ; that they should hold their property in Spain free 
from molestation, or be allowed to sell it and withdraw wheresoever 
they pleased ; and that Boabdil should be permitted to retire to an estate 
in the Alpuxarras. The Saracens were, however, finally expelled from 
Spain in the reign of Philip III., 1610. 

The Jews had been included in the Moorish treaty ; but with them 
the conditions were not kept. Besides having amassed considerable 
riches by trade, they had also acquired nearly all the wealth of the king- 
dom by usury. An intolerant zeal, excited by absurd reports, impelled 
the government to order every individual of that persecuted race to quit 
the country. Four months only were allowed for the settlement of their 
affairs, and they were forbidden, under pain of death, to carry with them 
either silver, gold, or precious stones. Half a million, or according to 
29 



338 MIDDLE AGES. 

certain authors 800,000, are said to have departed, some proceeding to 
Africa, others to France, and the majority into Portugal, where they 
were in a short time treated with no less severity. These oppressed 
individuals carried away all the commerce of the Peninsula, and the 
Spanish government, far from enriching itself, lost a great portion of its 
annual revenue: 

In the same year which saw Granada wrested from the Moors, Ame- 
rica was discovered by Columbus, who thus " for Castile and Leon 
found a New World." 

The restoration of Roussillon and Cerdagne by Charles VIII., before 
his expedition into Italy in 1494, added to this prosperity; and in 1496, 
a double marriage united the houses of Spain and Austria. Mary of 
Burgundy, wife of the Archduke Maximilian, bore her husband two 
children; namely Philip, who married Joanna second infanta of Spain, 
and Margaret, who became the wife of John the infanta's brother. This 
latter prince dying the same year, Isabella, married to Emmanuel of 
Portugal, was declared heiress of Castile and Aragon by the estates 
assembled at Toledo and Saragossa. But she died in giving birth to a 
son, who did not long survive his parent. 

Portugal. — The race of Henry of Burgundy became extinct in 1383, 
in the person of Don Ferdinand, who, at his death, left a natural child 
Beatrice, married to John I. of Castile. The aversion entertained by 
the Portuguese to a Castilian sovereign enabled Don Juan, brother of 
the late king, to ascend the throne as John I. of Portugal. Being sup- 
ported by the English, he defeated the Spaniards and their French 
allies at Aljubarotta, 1385, and thereby secured the throne, though the 
war was not terminated until the commencement of the fifteenth century 
This sovereign died in 1433, after a popular and glorious reign of forty- 
eight years, during which the Cortes were twenty-five times convoked. 
Edward, his eldest son, succeeded, but was soon carried off by a pesti- 
lence which ravaged the country, 1438 ; and in an expedition against 
the African Moors, he was so unfortunate as to leave his brother to 
perish in captivity. Alphonso V., a monarch of warlike and chivalrous 
spirit, conducted three expeditions against the infidels. In 1474, on the 
death of Henry IV. of Castile, he espoused Joanna, daughter of that 
.nonarch, assumed the title of sovereign, and even disputed the posses- 
sion of the kingdom with Ferdinand the Catholic. Being unsuccessful, 
he visited France to seek the assistance of Louis XI. ; and here the 
failure of his negotiations so disgusted him with the regal power, that 
he formed the resolution of abdicating and retiring to the Holy Land, 
He died in 1481, as he was about to enter the monastic life. John II. 
strengthened the royal authority in Portugal by diminishing the power 
of the barons : in the diet of Evora, 1482, he revoked the concessions 
made by his predecessors to the prejudice of the crown, and suppressed 
the power of life and death exercised by many nobles. Such innova- 
tions were not tamely endured, but the vigour of the king eventually 
compelled submission. John has been styled a perfect prince, and the 
tutor of kings in the art of government ; and in truth he deserved the 
esteem of his subjects, by the indefatigable cares of his administration, 
by his just regulations, and by his anxiety in promoting maritime dis- 
covery. But, by humbling the nobles, he laid the foundation of future 
despotism, as thev gradually became instruments of absolute power. 
He died in 1495. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 339 



DISCOVERIES AND COLONIES. 

At the close of the fifteenth century, two events of incalculable im- 
portance to mankind, — the discovery of the New World, and the route 
to the Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, — produced an entire revolution 
in the commerce, manners, industry, and government of every nation. 

Portuguese Colonies. — John I., who about the end of the fourteenth 
century had founded a new dynasty in Portugal, undertook an expedi- 
tion against Barbary in 1412, with the intention of occupying the rest- 
less minds of his subjects. His third son, Henry, who accompanied 
him, manifested thenceforward a very ea<_:er desire for foreign adventure. 
Two ships, equipped by his orders, advanced five degrees beyond Cape 
Nun, hitherto considered impassable owing to the burning heat of the 
torrid zone; but they did not venture to pass Cape Bojador, lying three 
degrees north of the tropic. In 1419, accident led to the discovers of 
Madeira; the extraordinary fertility of which island is attributed to" the 
burning of the forests to clear the face of the country, which is said to 
have continued seven years. The sugar-cane was imported from Sicily 
and Cyprus ; the vine was brought from the Morea ; and in a few years 
sugar and wine became considerable articles of commerce. The Canary 
islands, early taken possession of by the Spaniards, were during several 
years a subject of dispute between Spain and Portugal ; but they even- 
tually remained in the power of the former. 

Prince Henry, now directing all his attention to the discovery of a 
passage to India by sea, obtained from Pope Martin V., as sovereign of 
the universe, a right to the conquests he should make between "Cape 
Bojador and the Indies. As soon as the necessary bull was granted, 
the expedition sailed ; and in 1440, Cape Blanco was reached. Two 
years after, the exchange of some prisoners for gold-dust and negroes 
gave rise to the odious slave-trade. In 1484, the adventurers proceed- 
ed more than 1500 miles, crossing the equator and entering the river 
Congo. In their farther progress south, the land was found to decline 
towards the east, which gave them hopes of arriving at India, and ap- 
peared to confirm the narratives of the circumnavigation of Africa by 
the Phoenicians. The solution of the great problem fell to the lot of 
Bartholomew Diaz, who discovered the. Cape of Good Hope in 1486. 
Vasco de Gama, the hero of the Lusiad, sailed from Portugal in 1497, 
and doubling, for the first time, that celebrated promontory, discovered 
Madagascar. From this island he proceeded until he reached Calicut, 
thirteen months afler his departure from Lisbon. 

Hindostan was at this period divided among the kings of Cambay, 
Delhi, Bisnagar, Narsinga, and Calicut, who had many sovereigns 
among their tributaries. The port of Calicut, from a Mohammedan 
superstition connected with it, became the most celebrated in the whole 
peninsula. Here Gama was at first hospitably received, but he after- 
wards experienced considerable opposition from the Moors of Africa, 
who traded to that city. On his return home in 1499, the kino- named 
him admiral of the Indies, and loaded him with honours. 

America. — About the end of the tenth century, the Scandinavians, in 
some of their maritime expeditions, had reached Iceland and Greenland, 
from which latter country they appear to have advanced to Vinland, 



J540 MIDDLE AGES. 

probably Labrador. In Greenland some unimportant settlements were 
made, and the communication with the transatlantic continent was main- 
tained until the beginning of the 15th century, when the fate of these 
colonies was covered as with a cloud ; and although various attempts 
have since been made for their discovery, no traces of their existence 
have been obtained. In Southern Europe these expeditions were entire- 
ly unknown, and therefore the undiminished glory was left to Columbus 
of proving the existence of the Western World. This celebrated navi- 
gator was of Genoese origin ; though his character had been formed 
and his skill acquired in the service of Portugal. His active mind 
readily foresaw the length and difficulties of a voyage to the Indies by 
sailing to the eastward, even if the route should be discovered; and it 
appeared to him that by sailing directly west he would more readily 
attain his object. Many circumstances, the importance of which is 
best known to mariners, supported his theories ; but those to whom he 
applied for protection and support did not acknowledge their force. 
The Genoese senate regarded him as a madman; in Portugal his confi- 
dence was most treacherously abused ; and in England his brother Bar- 
tholomew obtained the consent of Henry VII. only when too late. 
After many obstacles, arising from the ignorance and religious scruples 
of those to whom his project was submitted, Columbus sailed with three 
small vessels from Palos in Andalusia, 3d August, 1492. On the night 
of the 11th October, land was seen after a tedious voyage, during which 
the commander had to contend against the cowardly and rebellious spirit 
of his crew. San Salvador or Guanahani, one of the Bahama chain 
stretching between Florida and St. Domingo, was the island first dis- 
covered. Cuba and Hayti were reached soon after. Columbus, now 
directing his course homeward, returned to the harbour of Palos, seven 
months and eleven days after his departure. He was received 'with 
great kindness by Ferdinand and Isabella, who ennobled his family, 
and ratified all the privileges of the treaty of Santa Fe.* 

While Europe was still re-echoing with the news of this voyage, the 
navigator had again sailed towards the west with seventeen vessels, 
having on board numerous settlers eager to reap the golden harvest 
which the descriptions of travellers had placed in the Indies. Isabella 
in the island of Cuba was the first city founded in the New World. In 
his third voyage, 1498, Columbus reached the continent of America, 
near the mouth of the Orinoco. It does not fall within the scope of 
this work to do more than notice the leading points of transatlantic dis- 
covery ; the history of the early settlers will be found in volumes espe- 
cially devoted to that purpose. It will here suffice to say, that Colum- 
bus died in 1506, after being treated by the Spanish court with the great- 
est ingratitude. His body was pompously interred in the cathedral of 
Seville; and over it was erected a monument, with the simple inscrip- 
tion that Columbus had given a new world to Castile and Leon. His 
remains were afterwards transported to the island of Hayti, and buried 
in the cathedral of St. Domingo in 1536, whence, two hundred and sixty 
years afterwards, they were transferred to Havana. 

*By the articles of this treaty, drawn up before Columbus sailed, he was created high- 
admiral, with hereditary right in the seas he should discover ; viceroy also, with heredi- 
tary possession of the lands; he was to receive a tithe of the profits of commercial 
undertakings; and be supreme judge in all mercantile disputes in the newly-discovered 
countries. 



FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 341 

In 1499, Alonzo de Ojeda sailed to the new continent, accompanied 
by a Florentine merchant named Amerigo Vespucci, under whose direc- 
tion the enterprise was chiefly conducted. Returning to Europe, he pub- 
lished an account of his adventures, and claimed the honour of being the 
first to discover the mainland of the new world.* In 1500, the mouth 
of the great river Amazon was entered ; while the Portuguese had already 
landed in Brazil. 

Consult: Robertson's History of America; Irving's Life of Columbus. 

THE CHURCH. 

Councils of Constance- and Basle, 1414 and 1431. — Several at- 
tempts were made to terminate the great schism in the Catholic church ; 
and for that purpose, in the double pontificate of Benedict XIII. and 
Gregory XII., a council was held at Pisa in 1409, whose election of 
Alexander V. added a third pope to the two who disputed the possession 
of the tiara. It was not until the council of Constance deposed all the 
three, and elected Martin V. in their stead, followed, in 1429, by the 
resignation of Clement VIIL, that these divisions in the church were 
entirely extinguished. Martin, in contempt of his promises, published 
only seven unimportant decrees, by which he pretended to satisfy the 
complaints and demands of the council. In 1418, he dissolved it, and 
named Pavia for the next place of meeting, but the assembly was even- 
tually held at Basle under Eugenius IV. Independently of the correc- 
tion of abuses, this body had to deliberate on a reunion with the Greek 
church and other schismatic communions. The first object was attained 
by decreeing the abolition of " annates, reserves, and expectatives." 
The pope, alarmed at these bold measures, wished to dissolve the coun- 
cil ; but the members asserting their supremacy by force, accused Euge- 
nius of heresy, and deposed him. The reforms effected at Constance 
and Basle had not all the happy results that were expected; neverthe- 
less, they were adopted in France by the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, 
1438 ; and the diet of AschafTenburg accepted the German concordat, 
drawn up in terms exceedingly favourable to the holy see, 1448. The 
Emperor Frederick III., who desired to be crowned in the Roman capi- 
tal, withheld no sacrifice; and his coronation in 1452 was accompanied 
by a total renunciation of the rights of the empire over that ancient city. 
S;ince this period, the authority of the popes has been supreme in Rome ; 
and the conspiracy of the tribune Porcari in 1453 was the last struggle 
for republican* liberty. 

The chief resolutions of the assembly at Basle were those of the fourth and 
fifth sessions: one declaring the supremacy of general councils, as having 
received by divine right an authority to which every rank, even the papal, must 
submit in matters of faith, and in the reformation of the church;' the other 
declares liable to punishment every person, not excepting the pope himself, that 
shall refuse to obey any council lawfully assembled. These decrees, the great 
boast of the moderate papists, are not of direct practical importance ; but they 
served to check the usurpations of the see of Rome, by the acknowledgment 



* The imposture of Vespucci has long been known, and his dishonest narrative has in 
no degree injured the glory of Columbus. As to the honour of first reaching the shores 
Of the new continent, it probably belongs to the English mariners, who, under Cabot, a 
Bristol seaman of Venetian parents, sailed along the coasts of North America from 
Labrador to Florida, 1498. 
29* 



342 MIDDLE AGES. 

of a superior authority. The same assembly further enacted that another 
general council should be held in five years ; a second at the end of seven 
more; and at intervals of every ten years afterwards. Their proposition on the 
faith to be kept with heretics will be noticed below. This synod further took 
away the cup from the laity, ordering that "the Lord's supper should be 
received by them only in one kind, i. e. the bread." 

Hussites. — Since the cruel extirpation of the Albigenses, the pope 
and church, who assumed to be sole interpreters of Scripture, had reigned 
without obstacle; but the imprudent obstinacy of John XXII., in 1324, 
excited complaints and accusations against the holy see, which proved 
the forerunners of the Reformation. The Franciscans, whom the pope 
violently persecuted, furnished in thirty-four years no fewer than two 
thousand victims to the pontifical executioners. The publications de- 
scribing the disorders of the court of Avignon were followed up in 
England with an effect still more fatal to the supremacy of Rome. John 
Wickliffe, by his translation of the New Testament into the English 
tongue, inflicted a severe blow on the authority of the clergy.* His 
doctrines spread rapidly beyond this country ; and in the university of 
Prague arose the great predecessor of Luther. John Huss began by 
preaching against the disorderly lives of churchmen, and soon adopted 
the principles of Wickliffe, with which he became familiar, by means 
of the books his friend Jerome had brought from Oxford. Some time 
afterwards, Boniface IX. sent monks into Bohemia charged with the 
sale of indulgences : this scandalous traffic was forbidden by Sigis- 
mond ; and Huss seized the opportunity of declaiming against the power 
of the pope to grant them. When the reformer's exertions in defence of 
the privileges of the university had promoted him to the rectorship, he 
spoke more freely, and even attacked the papal supremacy. Alexander 
V. interfered energetically to crush the rising heresy ; but although in 
1412 he excommunicated Huss and laid Prague under an interdict, the 
rector continued to disseminate his doctrines. For this conduct he was 
cited before the council of Constance, the states-general of Christendom, 
as it has been called, 1414. Under a safe-conduct from Sigismond, 
Huss reached the place of meeting, where he was soon thrown into 
prison, and detained half a year before his first interrogation, 5th June 
1415. About a month afterwards, judgment was pronounced on a series 
of thirty-nine articles professed to be taken from his works, his books 
were condemned to be burnt, and himself given over to the secular 
power. He perished at the stake, protesting his orthodoxy to the last, j 
In 1416, his disciple, Jerome of Prague, underwent a similar fate. 

* The translation and reading of the Bible, after the Vulgate had ceased to he intel- 
ligible, was by no means interdicted, although the Legends of Saints were more admired 
The New Testament was rendered into German by two different parties in the ninth 
century, and detached books had been translated into French before the twelfth. When 
the spread of heretical opinions began to disturb the orthodox believer, it was thought, 
necpssary to provide against lawless interpretation; and, accordingly, the council of 
Toulouse, in 1229, prohibited the laity from possessing the Scriptures. 

t Hallain remarks, that " the scandalous breach of faith -the violation of the safe- 
conduct — which the council induced Sigismond to commit on that occasion, is notorious. 
But perhaps it is not equally so, that it recognised by a solemn decree the flagitious 
principle, that no faith or promise ousht to he kept with Huss, by natural, divine, or 
human law, to the prejudice of the Catholic religion. No breach of faith, he continues, 
can be excused by our opinion of ill-desert in the party, or by a narrow interpretation 
of our own engagements. Every capitulation ought to be construed favourably for the 
weaker side." 



APPENDIX TO PART SECOND. 343 

The news of these executions excited general indignation throughout 
Bohemia, where the doctrine of communion in both kinds and evangeli- 
cal self-denial had made great progress. All the churches of Prague 
re-echoed the panegyrics of Huss; medals were struck in his honour; 
and at length a solemn festival was appointed to commemorate his mar- 
tyrdom. Angry feelings both against Germans and Romans now 
announced a speedy outbreak; and in John of Trocznow, surnamed 
Zisca, was found a leader in the war against the church. His partisans 
soon amounted to the number of 40,000; and to provide a stronghold for 
them, he caused lines to be drawn around the summit of a mountain, 
which he called Tabor — the Bohemian word for a camp or tent — 
whence his followers derived their appellation of Taborites. The 
Hussites gave full scope to their fury, so that they destroyed 550 monas- 
teries before the end of the year. This violence brought Sigismond 
into Moravia ; and by means of the crusade then preached, he united 
140,000 men under his banner. This numerous host was defeated by 
the Bohemians armed with iron flails, and nearly all the Moravian 
nobility perished on the field of battle. Zisca having died in 1424 of 
the plague, the Taborites separated into two bodies, which continued to 
devastate Bavaria, Misnia, and Lusatia. Their ravages were terminated 
by the concessions of the council of Basle. 

Council of Florence, 1439. — Under Pope Eugenius IV. a council 
was held at Florence, whither it had been transferred from Ferrara, for 
the purpose of terminating the Greek schism. The Emperor John Pa- 
leeologus, after a brief discussion, acceded to the Roman confession of 
faith, recognising especially the doctrines that the " Holy Ghost pro- 
ceedeth from the Father and the Son," and that the Bishop of Rome 
was the head of the universal church. The wound now seemed healed ; 
but when the emperor returned to Constantinople, he met with such an 
opposition to the re-union of the two churches, that he dared not perse- 
vere. In the subsequent overthrow of the Greek kingdom, Pope 
Nicholas V. saw the judgment of an offended Deity. In 1492, the papal 
crown was disgraced by Alexander VI. (Roderic Borgia), whose profli- 
gate career, scarcely possible to be exaggerated, was ended by his 
drinking the poison he had mingled for another. 



APPENDIX TO PART SECOND. 

Commerce, the Progress of Learning, Discoveries, $'c. 

Commerce. — The commerce of Western Europe was almost entirely inter- 
rupted between the fall of Rome and the accession of Charlemagne, at which 
latter period the cities of Italy began to form a connexion with the ports of the 
Greek empire. While Constantinople flourished, the treasures of the East 
were brought thither by caravans from India, through Candahar and Persia; 
by the northern routes along the Caspian and F-uxine seas ; by the Euphrates 
and thence overland to the Syrian ports; or lastly, by way of the Red Sea and 
Egypt. Amalfl, in the tenth century ; Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, in the 
eleventh, became in turn the chief marts of foreign trade. The persecuted 
Jews were at this time active agents in the mercantile system ; and by the 
decrees of the church against usury, the trade in money was, until the thirteenth 



344 MIDDLE AGES. 

century, thrown almost entirely into their hands. The Crusades formed a 
grand epoch in the history of commerce, by the introduction of silk and sugar 
into the west of Europe. Five hundred years before, in 551, silk- worms had 
been brought from China into Greece, and were successfully reared in the 
Morea. 

In the fourteenth century, the Genoese traded with India through the Black 
Sea ; as did the Venetians through Egypt and Syria. The circumnavigation 
of Africa proved as fatal to the commerce of Venice as did the fall of Constan- 
tinople to her great rival. So long as the Mediterranean was the medium of 
commercial intercourse, Venice, situated nearly in the centre of the civilised 
world, possessed the whole trade of the East ; and such were her resources 
derived from the traffic, that five millions of gold crowns were expended in 
opposing the memorable league of Cambray, 1508. The maritime communica- 
tion opened by the Portuguese with India in 1497, deprived the republic of the 
wealth of the East; while the discovery of America directed the attention of 
Western Europe to a wider field of mercantile and naval enterprise. Another 
extraordinary event again changed the course of commerce : an inundation of 
the sea formed a connexion between the ocean and a lake since called the 
Zuyder Zee, and thus Amsterdam became a maritime port in the fifteenth 
century. The Hanseatic league, which, in 1241, facilitated the progress of the 
interior trade of Europe, began to decline from 1370. 

The grand commercial route was the Rhine, the Danube, and the various 
passages of the Alps, particularly across the Tyrol and by the St. Gothard. The 
second line proceeded from Greece to Russia, passing by Vienna and Ratisbon. 
A third road extended from the coasts of the Mediterranean, by Marseilles, to 
the Atlantic. The merchandise brought by these channels was distributed at 
the several fairs of Aix-la-Chapelle, where all goods were exempt from toll, 
and of Champagne, where might be seen merchants from the most distant 
parts of the known world. Spain furnished arms, silk, and Cordovan leather; 
while Germany, in return for the wines of France and spices of the East, 
exported beer, cloth, and metals. 

In England the charter of John, 1215, declared a uniformity of weights and 
measures; and in 1331, Edward III. endeavoured to bring from the Low 
Countries a number of the discontented weavers. In the thirty-seventh year 
of his reign, it was enacted that every merchant or artificer worth £500 in 
goods and chattels might dress like a squire of £100 a-year, and so on in a 
rising scale. In 1348, Spanish horses of Arabian breed were exchanged for 
sheep ; a barter which created new sources of wealth in both countries. Agri- 
culture especially flourished in England ; and it is to this triple combination of 
commerce, manufactures, and rural economy that she is indebted for her 
splendour and power. 

Woollen Trade. — The introduction into England of the important manu- 
facture of woollen cloth was the work of Edward III. Flanders had previously 
been the great centre of the trade, whence, by the institution of yearly fairs, 
960, all continental Europe was supplied. English wool had long been exported 
to the Netherlands, but principally by German and Italian merchants. Henry 
I. had endeavoured to establish manufactures of fine wool in 1111, by a settle- 
ment of Flemings at Ross in Pembrokeshire. The abuses of monopoly, and 
the tumults to which they gave rise, drove many workmen from Holland and 
Flanders into this kingdom, 1331, where they obtained such privileges as 
encouraged them to resume their occupations. The serges of Ireland were 
much esteemed in Italy in the fourteenth century, before which period the 
woollen trade of Catalonia had been firmly established. 

Fisheries. — The earliest authentic account of the herring-fishery on the coast 
of Norway extends as far back as to 978. At the beginning of the fifteenth 
century the Netherlands rivalled the Hanse Towns, not only in their woollen 
manufactures, but in their method of pickling herrings, a superiority which 
they attained about the time of the removal of the great shoal from the 
southern shores of the Baltic, first to those of Denmark and Norway, and, in 
1394, to that of Britain. 

Naval Code.— The first maritime code was that of Rhodes, which was revived 



APPENDIX TO PART SECOND. 345 

in that of Amalfi. Richard I. of England is supposed to have drawn up the 
laws of Oleron, 1194 ; but the code of Barcelona, 1255, became the fundamental 
law of commerce. Some such regulations were necessary to prevent piracy 
and the barbarous custom of reprisals. 

Banks, (J-c. — The silver mines of Misnia, discovered in 698, afforded a more 
convenient means of trading than by barter. The modern funding system dates 
from 1175, when a forced loan was raised at Venice. General letters of credit 
are mentioned about 1200 ; bills of exchange were known in 1255 ; and the first 
bank of exchange and deposit was established at Barcelona, 1401. In 1236, an 
attempt was made in China to introduce a paper currency for the relief of the 
government, but it failed from the want of public confidence. 

Gu?ipowder. — The manufacture of gunpowder was known to the Chinese 
about a. d. 85 ; but no traces of it are discoverable in Europe before the middle 
of the thirteenth century, when it is said to have been used by the Spanish 
Moors in defence of the city of Niebla, 1249. Cannon appear to have been 
first employed by the King of Granada, when he besieged Baza in 1312; and 
by Edward III. at Cressy, 1346. Muskets were introduced about 1411, and 
bombs in 1450. 

Printing. — The art of printing with moveable types was invented about the 
middle of the fifteenth century ; but its origin is involved in much uncertainty, 
no less than fifteen cities and a greater number of individuals laying claim to 
the honour. The taking of impressions from engraved blocks or plates is very 
ancient, and was known to the Babylonians and Romans. The Chinese are 
supposed to have made much progress in this art before the tenth century. 
Guttenburg of Strasburg, Faust, and Schoeffer, however their pretensions may 
be confused, consummated this valuable discovery. The first printed book was 
a Latin Bible, 1450-1455, known as the " Mazarin Bible," from a copy having 
been discovered at Paris in the library of the Cardinal Mazarin. The first 
work printed in England was executed at Oxford, 1468, three years before 
Caxton began to print in Westminster Abbey. 

The Great Plague. — An extraordinary continuance of heavy rain-storms in 
the winter ofl345 and the following spring, by causing the almost entire failure 
of the harvests in Europe, produced a severe famine, which rendered the popu- 
lation very susceptible of contagion. The great plague raged in every country 
of Europe, carrying off nearly three-fifths of the inhabitants. It began in the 
Levant about 1346, and thence extended to Sicily, Pisa, and Genoa: the suffer- 
ings of Florence gave occasion to the Decameron of Boccaccio. In 1348, it 
spread over France and Spain, reaching Britain the next year. In 1350, it 
coasted Germany and other northern states, continuing generally about five 
months in each country. 

Gipsies. — In the year 1417, the gipsies first appeared in Moldavia, Wallachia, 
and Hungary. It is extremely probable that the terror spread by Tamerlane's 
invasion of India, 1408, drove out many of the inhabitants, and that these are 
the Zingari (Wanderers), known as Bohemians in France, and 'Gipsies (j. e. 
Egyptians) in England. 

Revival of the Arts and Learning. — The revival of the fine arts illumined the 
close of the Middle Ages. The church of St. Mark at Venice was completed 
in 1071 ; Notre Dame in Paris was founded 1163, and occupied 100 years in 
building ; Westminster Chapel was rebuilt by Henry III. in 1220 ; the dome 
or cathedral of Pisa was the first model of the Tuscan order ; Cimabue, born 
at Florence 1240, was the restorer of oil-painting ; while his pupil Giotto intro- 
duced rules and added dignity to the art. The gardens of Lorenzo de Medici, 
filled with the precious remains of antiquity, were the nursery of men of genius, 
and particularly of Michael Angelo, who attained the highest eminence in 
painting, sculpture, and architecture. Finiguerra, in 1460, or rather Baldini, 
invented the art of engraving ;* and by 1600, the sublime and graceful produc- 
tions of Raphael were accurately transferred to paper. 

•This is doubtful, as plates are to be found in the different cabinets of Europe of 
ad early a date as 1440. Wood-engraving made great progress in Germany about the 



346 MIDDLE AGES. 

From the fall of Rome to the time of Charlemagne there was i long period 
of violence and ignorance ; during which the islands of Britain and Ireland 
claim the honour of sheltering the exiled learning of Europe. Situated beyond 
the limits of the barbarian ravages, they afforded an asylum, from which the 
students were again expelled by the maritime ravages of the Danes and North- 
men, to diffuse their knowledge over the Empire of the West. The conventual 
schools, established by Charlemagne, became the means of arresting the utter 
decay of learning. 

The dialects of France, Italy, and Portugal, are derived from one common 
source; for " Rome imposed not only her yoke but her language upon con- 
quered nations." The progressive corruption of the Latin language by the 
adoption of foreign words, and by the loss of many works of standard authority, 
conduced to the formation and peculiarities of its several derivatives. Still it 
did not cease to be spoken- in France until the eighth century; but in 813, we 
find the Romance tongue completely established. In Italy, the change appears 
to have taken place earlier 

With the disuse of Latin all the learned pursuits were abandoned, and the 
establishment of Christianity alone preserved the remains of ancient literature, 
which found refuge in the monastic institutions. The first great step towards 
a revival of letters appeared in the foundation of universities. Paris, in 
1100, became famous by the teaching of William of Champeaux, and of his 
rival Abelard. Oxford was a flourishing school about 1200, and Cambridge 
was incorporated in 1231. Bologna claims a higher antiquity. These seats 
of the muses owed their reputation to the "scholastic philosophy" — an intri- 
cate web of logical and metaphysical subtleties, founded on .he dialetics of 
Aristotle. 

In the twelfth century the Romance language separated into the Langue 
oV Oc and the Langue d' Oil, Provencal and Northern French. The celebrated 
Troubadours now appeared ; and the Floral games of Toulouse and the Courts 
of Love attracted the chivalry of Europe. French, properly so called, began 
to be spoken prior to 1100, and England was the earliest school of its literature, 
and the resort of the Norman trouveurs. 

The English language was formed at a later period than either of the above- 
mentioned dialects ; the earliest tolerable writer was the author of Piers Plow- 
man's Vision. Wickliffe first displayed the copiousness and energy of the 
language ; and Geoffrey Chaucer, born in 1328, is justly esteemed the father 
of English poetry. 

The oldest Italian poet is not earlier than the year 1193. Dante, the first 
great one of modern Italy, was born 1265 ; his noble poem, the Divine Comedy, 
was written in exile. He died in the year 1321. Petrarch followed at an 
interval of eighty-three years, 1304, and gave a polish to the language which 
the other had formed. He was among the first to urge the study of Greek 
literature, and was successful in recovering many of the treasures of the 
ancient classics. Boccaccio, born 1313, kindled his poetic ardour at the tomb 
of Virgil ; but he is more justly famous as the father of Italian prose composi- 
tion. About this period the French commenced turning their old metrical 
romances into prose — an evidence that the prosaic genius of their dialect began 
to be felt. The language and poetry of Spain were not developed before the 
sixteenth century. 

The arrival of Barlaan, a Calabrian monk, at Avignon was an epoch in 
literary history. He read Plato and Homer with Petrarch, whose example 
attracted the attention of Italy. Cosmo de Medici established an academy at 
Florence about 1450, solely for the study of Plato : Nicholas V., on the con- 
trary, favoured the philosophy of Aristotle. The progress of learning was 
facilitated by the invention of linen paper in the thirteenth century, and public 
libraries were soon afterwards formed. To Poggio we are indebted for the 



end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries under Albert Durer and 
his masters. 



APPENDIX TO PART SECOND. 347 

discovery of Quintilian, Lucretius, twelve comedies of Plautus, and other 
works. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 contributed greatly to the spread 
of Greek literature in the West, by the dispersion of its learned men. A pro- 
fessorship of Greek was established at Oxford under Henry VII., and another 
at Paris in 1458. The cause of learning was supported by Laurentius Valla, 
Leonardo Aretino, Politian, and the learned printer Manutius Aldus. 

Domestic Manners, fyc. The increasing wealth and foreign commerce of 
Europe naturally led to greater refinements in domestic life. When other and 
more direct testimony is wanting, we may, in certain respects, judge of the 
progress of society by the sumptuary laws, the chief part of which, extending 
both to the table and the wardrobe, were enacted in the fourteenth century. 
In France these provisions were continued down to 1700. The history of civil 
architecture gives a striking insight into the advancement of social comforts. 
The high gloomy keeps, with their narrow loopholes, gradually yielded to the 
castle and the palace, in which the large arched windows are evidences at 
once of internal quiet and magnificence. The houses of the gentry were 
usually built of wood or of stones rough from the quarry. Brick buildings 
first appear in the fourteenth century. The ordinary mansion-houses were 
small and inconvenient ; a passage extended through the house, with a hall 
and parlour on one side, and on the other the kitchen and offices, with one or 
two chambers above. In France, traces of fortified castles {chateaux) remain; 
while in Italy, although in several towns the houses were covered with thatch, 
there was a greater degree of elegance in the buildings. Chimneys' did not 
come into generaJ us*e before the middle of the fourteenth century ; and in 
France, not before the middle of the seventeenth. They were not introduced 
into the Cheshire farm-houses until the early part of Elizabeth's reign, the fire 
being in the middle of the house against a hob of clay, and the oxen lived under 
the same roof with the family. Neither in France nor in England was window- 
glass introduced before the fourteenth century, and during the middle ages 
glazed windows appear to have been an article of moveable furniture. Beds 
were extremely rare ; the walls of the rooms were naked ; there were no 
libraries or pictures ; silver cups and spoons were almost the only articles of 
plate. Chairs and looking-glasses were scarcely known ; window- shutters 
and curtains were great luxuries even in 1539. 

The condition of agriculture in England had been gradually improving since 
*he Norman conquest. During the long reign of the Plantagenets, woods 
were cleared, marshes drained, and parochial enclosures made, so that, under 
Edward III., there was a great extent of land cultivated; the northern and 
western parts, however, being the most backward. The culture of the arable 
soil was very imperfect, nine or ten bushels of wheat being a fair average crop 
to an acre. Such land was rented at about sixpence an acre, though meadow- 
ground was double or triple that sum. To augment their revenues, the land- 
lords procured a repeal of the act forbidding the exportation of corn, 15th 
Henry VI., so long as wheat did not exceed 6s. 8d. a-quarter, and barley 3s. 
Under Edward IV. the usual price of land was ten years' purchase. But to 
form precise notions on this subject, we must be acquainted with the relative 
value of money. Before the debasement of the coin in 1301, the ordinary price 
of a quarter of wheat was about 4s., that of barley and oats being in proportion. 
A sheep was dear at one shilling, and an ox at ten or twelve. By a com- 
parative table of English money, drawn up by Sir F. Eden, it appears that the 
value of a pound sterling of our present coinage was worth at the Conquest 
.£2, 18s. lfd., whence it gradually decreased until it reached 4s 7|d. in 1551 ; 
but the next year it rose to £1, 0s. 6fd. With few variations, until the 43d of 
Elizabeth, it continued as at present. Sir John Fortescue speaks of £5 a year 
as " a fair living for a yeoman ;" in 1514, the expense of a scholar at the uni- 
versity was but £5 a-year, or about £60 of our money ; and earlier, in 1476, 
we find fourpence (our five shillings) given as a fee to a barrister for his dinner. 
Here we must consider the change in manners and the usual mode of living. 
Little wine was drunk ; there were no foreign luxuries ; male servants were 
kept chiefly for husbandry; and landed estates were nearly exempt from 



348 MIDDLE AGES. 

taxation. The condition of the labouring classes, in the reign of Edward III. 
or Henry VI., was better than at present. In the fourteenth century a harvest- 
man had fourpence a-day, thus enabling him in a week to buy a coom of 
wheat, which, at the average of the last twenty years, would now cost about 
28s. In 1350, reapers' wages were fixed by law at threepence a-day, without 
food, equal to 5s. at present; in 1424, at fivepence, equal to 6s. 8d. ; those of 
ordinary workmen being somewhat less. In 1444, a head-shepherd had £1, 
4s. a year, equivalent to about £'20, and in their ordinary diet labourers used a 
good deal of animal food. 

Consult: Hallam, Middle Ages, ch. ix. pp. 1 and 2; and Millar's Lectures 
on the Philosophy of History, vol. iv. lect. 38-40. 



END OP PART II. MIDDLE AGES. 



PART THIRD. 
MODERN HISTORY 

FROM THE ERA OF THE REFORMATION, AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 
SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 



The great historical and political events which characterize this lasi 
period of Universal History were brought about by many concurrent 
circumstances, sufficiently united in respect of date to form a marked 
difference between the middle ages and the events of modern times. 
The introduction of the mariner's compass was followed, though at a 
long interval, by the discovery of America and by the circumnavigation 
of Africa ; while the invention of printing prepared the way for the intel- 
lectual and religious changes effected by Luther in the sixteenth century. 

In considering the actual state of Europe, we must not forget the 
influence of race and language. The nations of the South, with their 
Roman habits and dialects, were in almost constant opposition to those 
of the North, whose language and manners were of Germanic origin. 
In the West, civilisation was rapidly developed, and carried to the most 
distant countries, whereas in the East, the people, chiefly of Sclavonic 
lineage, were too much engaged in opposing the barbarians to make 
any great progress in the arts of peace. Similar causes will also 
account for the backwardness of the Scandinavian tribes, who were so 
far removed from the influence of refinement. 

In all the nations of Gothic descent, which alone were strictly under 
the feudal law, a powerful middle class arose by degrees, and supported 
the kings against the barons. But the struggle was long and severe ere 
the people triumphed. In the middle of the fifteenth century, feudal- 
ism was dominant in the Empire; it had humbled the Castilian 
monarchs, and preserved its supremacy in Portugal, England, and 
Naples ; in Scotland it was attacked by the sovereigns ; while in France, 
Charles VIII., successful in recovering those provinces conquered by 
the English, paved the way for its abolition ; and, before the end of the 
century, Ferdinand of Spain, Henry VII. of England, and Louis XI. of 
France, had established the royal power on its ruins. Sweden, which 
had been united to Denmark during sixty years, broke the union of Cal- 
mar ; Russia emancipated herself from the Tartar yoke ; and the Teu- 
tonic order of knights became the vassals of Poland. During the time 
the emperor was busied in founding the greatness of his house, and 
Germany in repairing the evils inflicted by her political and religious 
wars, all the Eastern states were menaced by the Turks, whom the 
Hungarians at length arrested in their victorious career. By the middle 
of the sixteenth century, the Reformed doctrines were already spread 

30 (349) 



350 MODERN HISTORY. 

throughout Europe, particularly in France, England, Scotland, and the 
Low Countries. Spain alone remained closed against them, and be- 
came their most determined adversary. 

The Eastern and Northern states did not long remain strangers to the 
European republics. During the rivalry of Francis I. and Charles VI., 
Turkey was identified with the European system; and at the beginning 
of the seventeenth century, Sweden interfered in a resolute manner in 
the affairs of her southern neighbours. It was now that France assumed 
a high position ; and Louis XIV. dictated to Europe so long as his an- 
tagonists were composed of the divided Empire, Holland, and Spain, 
then almost ruined ; but his influence and power were eclipsed so soon 
as William III., in 1688, ascended the British throne, and was enabled 
to wield the extensive resources of his new kingdom. In concert with 
Holland, the English destroyed the pretensions of France to the dominion 
of the sea, and, in union with Austria, confined her within her proper 
limits, though they could not prevent the establishment of a Bourbon 
on the Spanish throne. Sweden was the principal northern power : 
twice she effected considerable conquests, but was too feeble to maintain 
a lasting supremacy. Her career, too, was checked by Russia, which 
eventually attained the superiority she has ever since preserved. 

The beginning of the eighteenth century was marked by the formation 
of the kingdoms of Prussia and Sardinia. The colonial wars, one of the 
characteristics of this period, furnished England with an opportunity of 
destroying the navies of France and Spain, and of asserting her power 
over the neutral states. The revolution of her American dependencies 
threatened her influence, and terminated in the loss of these important 
settlements ; but, presenting a determined front to her enemies, she 
founded in the East an empire of vast wealth and extent. 

At the close of the eighteenth century, war raged throughout the 
greater part of Europe ; and the very foundations of society were shaken 
by the most terrible revolution on record. The political whirlwind 
spread from France over Europe, leaving in all directions the deepest 
marks of its progress. But as storms and tempests serve to puiify the 
atmosphere, so good has, in the political world, sprung out of what ap- 
peared to be unmingled evil. Constitutional monarchies are everywhere 
established, or the way is rapidly preparing for them; and the influence 
of the middle class is more directly felt in the governments both of 
England and France. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 



Britain and Ireland. — 1509, Henry VIII. — 1513, Battle of Flodden; James 
V. — 1514, Wolsey. — 1527, Anne Boleyn. — 1536, First Suppression of 
Monasteries.— 1542, Mary, Queen of Scotland.— 1547, Edward VI.— 1553, 
Mary.— 1558, Elizabeth.— 1587, Queen of Scotland beheaded.— 1588, Spanish 
Armada defeated. — 1598, Irish Revolt. 

France. — 1508, League of Cambray against Venice. — 1512, Battle of Ravenna. 
— 1515, Francis I. — 1520, Field of Cloth of Gold. — 1544, Battle of Cerri- 
soles ; Boulogne taken by the English. — 1545, Massacre of the Vaudois. — 
1558, Calais recovered.— 1560, Charles IX.— 1572, Massacre of St. Bartho- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 351 

lomew.— 1574, Henry III.— 1588, States of Blois.— 1589, Henry IV.— 1598, 
Edict of Nantes. 

Italian Peninsula. — 1501, Naples conquered by French. — 1503, Battle of 
Cerignola; 1525, of Pavia. — 1537, Cosmo de Medici. — 1547, Fieschi's Con- 
spiracy. — 1580, Charles Emanuel of Savoy. — 1585, Pope Sixtus V. 

Spanish Peninsula. — 1500, Charles V. born; Ximenes. — 1539, Last Casti- 
lian Cortes. — 1555, Philip II. — 1557, Sebastian of Portugal. — 1578, Henry I. 
of Portugal.— 1596, Cadiz taken by the English. 

United Provinces. — 1568, Death of Counts Egmont and Horn. — 1579, Union 
of Utrecht. — 1584, Prince of Orange murdered. — 1597, Victory of Turnhout. 

Germany. — 1501, Aulic Council. — 1517, Luther. — 1519, Charles V. Emperor. 
— 1530, Diet of Augsburg. — 1535, Anabaptist War. — 1545, Council of Trent. 
—1552, Treaty of Passau.— 1556, Ferdinand I. ; 1564, Maximilian II. ; 1576, 
Rudolph II. 

Hungary and Bohemia. — 1490, Ladislaus. — 1516, Louis II. — 1526, Battle of 
Mohaz ; John Zapoli and Ferdinand. — 1541, John Sigismund. — 1548, Here- 
ditary Succession of Bohemia. — 1566, Turkish Invasion. 

Poland and Russia. — 1506, Sigismund I. king of Poland. — 1519, Polish War 
against Teutonic Order.— 1533, Ivan IV.— 1550, New Code.— 1573, Henry 
ofValois. — 1581, Conquest of Siberia. — 1598, EndofRurik Dynasty. 

Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. — 1448, Christian II. — 1523, Gustavus 
Vasa. — 1534, Christian III. — 1560, Eric of Sweden. — 1592, Sigismund of 
Poland. 

The East.— 1501, Ismael Sophi, King of Persia.— 1512, Selim I.— 1515, Mogul 
Empire in the East Indies. — 1521, Belgrade taken. — 1522, Siege of Rhodes. 
— 1548, War with Persia. — 1553, Roxalana. — 1571, Battle of Lepanto. — 
1574, Amurath III.— 1585, Shah Abbas. 

Colonies. — 1500, Brazil discovered. — 1503, Portuguese first established in 
India. — 1508, West Indies. — 1513, Discovery of the South Sea. — 1526, 
Pizarro in Peru.— 1584, Virginia, the First English Colony. — 1586, Davis' 
Straits. 

The Church. — 1517, Luther. — 1525, Capuchin Order. — 1530, Confession of 
Augsburg. — 1533, Calvinists. — 1534, English Reformation. — 1540, Jesuits. 
— 1545, Council of Trent. — 1546, Socinians. — 1552, St. Francis Xavier. — 
1568, Bull in Cozna Domini, — 1572, Massacre of St. Bartholomew. — 1580, 
Chinese Mission. 

Inventions, &c. — 1517, Gun-locks.— 1538, Lotteries. — 1548, Balance Wheel. 
— 1582, Reformed Calendar; Oil-Painting. — 1593, Telescope and Ther- 
mometer. 

BRITAIN. 

England. — In 1501 and 1502 were concluded two marriages which 
led to important results in after-times. Arthur, prince of Wales, son of 
Henry VII, having espoused Catherine of Aragon, fourth daughter of 
Ferdinand and Isabella, and dying- six months afterwards, his "brother, 
afterwards Henry VIII., accepted the hand of the widow; while Mar- 
garet, eldest daughter of Henry VII., married James IV. of Scotland, 
thereby transmitting rights to her descendants which at length placed 
the Stuart family on the English throne. 



353 MODERN HISTORY. 

Henry VIII. succeeded his father in the year 1509, at the age of 
eighteen. His accession to the throne excited transports of joy in the 
nation, which had been dissatisfied with the parsimonious habits of his 
predecessor. The treasures amassed by the latter furnished the young 
king with immense resources ; the chief potentates of the Continent 
sought his alliance ; the treaties with France were made perpetual ; and 
nothing was thought wanting to his happiness. The celebrated Wolsey 
now first appeared on the theatre of politics; and, soon after his intro- 
duction to Henry, became the most influential member of the privy- 
council, and was considered prime-minister. Although older than his 
majesty, he made it his study to flatter and subserve the natural disposi- 
tion of his master for luxury and every kind of pleasure. Henry speedi- 
ly dissipated in tournaments and banquets the wealth left by his parent; 
and turned his attention to political intrigues and active warfare. Pope 
Julius II., eager to expel the French, whom, in virtue of the league of 
Cambray, he had introduced into Italy, spared no means to gain his 
support. He succeeded so far as to interrupt the friendly relations with 
Louis XII., and the English king in person led an army into Flanders, 
where he took Terouenne, and routed the enemy at Guinegate, in the 
Battle of the Spurs. In Scotland, the arms of Henry were not less 
successful; and James IV., the Scottish monarch, was entirely defeated 
and slain at Flodden in 1513. But finding at length that he had been 
the dupe of the Pope, he concluded a treaty with Louis XII., giving 
him in marriage his sister Mary, 1514. 

Francis I. renewed the treaties of his predecessors, and Wolsey 
seized on this opportunity of making himself agreeable to the French 
ruler, whose influence he required at Rome to obtain a cardinal's hat, 
the object of his ambition. The crafty churchman, however, took ad- 
vantage of the success gained by his patron at Marignano to alarm 
Henry as to the effect of the victories of the young and warlike sovereign. 
The long rivalry between Francis I. and Charles V., consequent on the 
elevation of the latter to the imperial dignity, for which Henry had him- 
self been a candidate, brought the English monarch into the quarrel, in 
the first instance, as the ally of the emperor. 

Discussions of a very different character soon engrossed the attention 
of the English monarch. Henry, who piqued himself greatly on his 
theological abilities, was indignant at the contempt with which Luther 
had treated Thomas Aquinas. In support of his favourite author, he 
composed " A Treatise in Defence of the Seven Sacraments," which 
was presented to the Pope, who, besides comparing it to the writings of 
Jerome and Augustin, gratified the king with the title of " Defender of 
the Faith," 1521. In return, the royal author, who was not inaccessible 
to the voice of praise, entered readily into the league against the King 
of France. 

The English invaded Picardy, and advanced to within eleven leagues 
of Paris, when the defeat and capture of Francis at Pavia in 1525, 
altered the policy of their sovereign. His intercession between the 
captive and Charles led to new conventions between England and 
France, whereby Henry gave up all pretensions to the crown of the 
latter country, which his predecessors had claimed since the reign of 
Edward III. 

In 1527, Henry was seized with a passion for Anne Boleyn, one of 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 353 

the queen's maids of honour ; and he seems to have early formed the 
design of getting rid of Catherine, and making this new favourite his 
wife. The quarrel between Pope Clement VII. and Charles V. appear- 
ed to Henry a favourable moment for accomplishing his purpose. Pro- 
posals to annul the marriage had been ineffectually made to the Pope 
several months before Anne appeared at court, when the king's determi- 
nation assumed all the violence natural to his character. Affecting to 
have scruples as to the lawfulness of his union with Catherine, and 
adopting the express language of the Book of Leviticus, he forwarded 
a theological treatise on the subject to Clement, who, pressed on the 
one side by a prince whom he was desirous of conciliating, and on the 
other by the emperor whom he feared, promised and temporized, in the 
hope that the passion of the former would cool. But this delay only 
irritated Henry's impatient temper, and, after a disgraceful scene before 
the two legates, he banished the unfortunate Catherine from court, 15*29. 
Meanwhile the Pope had become reconciled with Charles V., at whose 
instigation the case was transferred to Rome. For this change the king 
held Wolsey responsible, who, overwhelmed with sudden disgrace, was 
stripped of his immense riches, and died of a broken heart, 1530. His 
place was soon supplied by Cranmer, under whose advice Henry con- 
sulted the principal universities of Europe, the majority of which were 
favourable to his wishes ; and to annoy and weaken the clergy, he in- 
cluded them in the charge previously brought against the cardinal, of 
violating the statute of " praemunire."* A convocation was immediate- 
ly summoned, and d6 100,000 were offered for a full pardon, which 
Henry, who had now resolved on entirely subverting the papal au- 
thority, refused unless he were acknowledged " Supreme Head of the 
Church in England." Having attained his object, he secretly married 
Anne Boleyn, 1533; and after publicly acknowledging his new wife, 
had her crowned with great ceremony so soon as Cranmer, now raised 
to the see of Canterbury, could pronounce the sentence of divorce 
against Catherine. The parliament ratified the marriage with Anne, 
and declared Mary, the issue of the previous union, illegitimate. It 
also formally annulled the pontifical authority, and conferred on the 
king the title of " Supreme Head of the Anglican Church," with most 
of the spiritual prerogatives previously exercised by the Pope. 

In separating from the Romish communion, Henry pretended still to 
be orthodox. Believing himself absolute master of the minds of his 
subjects as well as of their bodies, he changed the discipline of the 
church, but retained its doctrines. In his eyes it was equally criminal 
to believe in the Pope or in Luther; and those of either party who were 
unable to disguise their sentiments, were punished alike. In 1535, two 
illustrious victims, Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More, perished on 
the scaffold for refusing to take the oath of supremacy; and at the same 
time, Protestants were dragged to the stake for speaking against the 
sacraments of the Roman church. The monks, whose credit had fallen 
with the power of the pontiff, detested the sacrilege which they conceived 

*This law, which is still in force, was passed during the disputes of Richard II. with 
the papacy, and enacts, that if any man shall seek or obtain, in the court of Rome or 
elsewhere, any translations of bishops from their present sees to other sees out of the 
kingdom ; any excommunications, bulls, or other instruments against the king's crown 
and dignity ; that his goods and chattels, lands and tenements, shall be forfeited to the 
crown, and his body imprisoned. 
30* 



354 MODERN HISTORY. 

the king to have committed ; and, on the other hand, Henry regarded 
them as his principal enemies, whom it was necessary to destroy. For 
this purpose, Cromwell, his secretary, was appointed "royal vicegerent 
and vicar-general," with orders to visit by his commissioners the con- 
vents of both sexes throughout the kingdom. Though time had intro- 
duced abuses and disorders into these institutions, the visiters published 
an exaggerated relation of them.* The parliament immediately made 
a first step towards the entire destruction of the religious orders, by sup- 
pressing all monasteries whose yearly income did not exceed £200 ster- 
ling. By this measure, 380 communities were abolished, whose total 
revenue amounted to £32,000, besides plate and jewels to the value of 
£100,000. 

Soon after these arbitrary proceedings, the queen was suddenly arrested 
and conveyed to the Tower, being accused of adultery and high treason. 
Seventeen days saw Anne Boleyn pass from the throne to the scaffold. 
There is no doubt that her vivacity and freedom of manner had given 
rise to suspicion ; but the best exculpation of her character is to be found 
in Henry's marriage with Jane Seymour, one of her maids of honour, on 
the day succeeding Anne's execution, 1536. During these transactions, 
the violent religious changes had excited great discontent, particularly 
in the north of England, where several revolts broke out. Thirty thou- 
sand of the malcontents marched towards London ; but they were dis- 
persed, and the principal leaders executed. These commotions increased 
the king's dislike to the monks, whom he not unjustly accused of being 
the secret agents of the insurrection. To crush them entirely, he deter- 
mined to destroy all the remaining religious communities. The parlia- 
ment readily passed the necessary measures ; and the annual revenue of 
the crown was augmented by an addition of £160,000. 

In the midst of his hostility to the Romish church, Henry never failed 
in his zeal to uphold its dogmas. The parliament, becoming daily more 
servile, approved of his intolerance by the famous bill of the Six Arti- 
cles, called the Bloody Statute, — a law which asserted the real presence, 
and communion of one kind, forbade the marriage of priests, admitted 
vows of chastity, and declared the utility of private masses, with the 
necessity of auricular confession. Any violation of the first article was 
punishable with death; and for the others, the penalties were confisca- 
tion of property and imprisonment during the royal pleasure. To crown 
all, the same parliament gave to the king's proclamations the force of 
statute law. 

In 1540, Henry, left a widower by the death of his queen, Jane Sey- 
mour, who died in 1537, twelve days after giving birth to a son, subse- 
quently Edward VI., contracted a new marriage with Anne, daughter 
of the Duke of Cleves. His union with this princess, whose personal 
appearance did not correspond with Cromwell's flattering description, 
led to the destruction of that favourite, whose sudden exaltation and 
tyrannical conduct had caused him to be generally hated. The king 
gave him over to his enemies, by whom he was accused of heresy and 
high treason; the very parliament which condemned him to death hav- 

* The substance of these charges has never been impeached ; and their existence is in 
a measure confirmed by similar imputations attached to monastic institutions even of 
these later days in Italy and Spain, as may be seen in the life of Scipio Ricci, bishop of 
Pistoia. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 355 

ing, but a few days before, declared him worthy to be the " vicar-gene- 
ral of the universe." The disgrace of this high officer was followed by 
the divorce of the queen ; and in less than a month Henry married a niece 
of the Duke of Norfolk, Lady Catherine Howard, who was decapitated 
eighteen months afterwards on a charge of incontinence before and after 
marriage. The king next espoused Catherine Parr, widow of Lord 
Latimer. A revolt in Ireland, hostilities and negotiations with Scotland, 
and a war with France, occupied the latter years of his reign. 

As Henry was descended from the Welsh Tudors, he naturally di- 
rected his attention to the country of his ancestors, which was a prey 
to all the disorders of feudal anarchy, and where his proclamations were 
without force. In 1536, it was enacted that the whole of Wales should 
be incorporated with England, being made subject to the same laws, 
and authorized to send to parliament a member for every county. 

In Ireland, the religious innovations countenanced by the government 
had excited so profound a sensation as to unite in one common cause 
the natives and the settlers, hitherto apparently irreconcilable enemies. 
But O'Neill, the head of the insurgents, having been defeated, the other 
chiefs submitted to the royal authority. In 1542, that country was 
raised from a lordship to a kingdom, and several of the most powerful 
leaders created earls, among whom O'Neil received the title of Tyrone. 
Lastly, some regulations for the administration of justice completed its 
pacification, and the power of the English had never appeared more 
firmly established since the invasion of Henry II. 

The king, finding his authority confirmed in England and Ireland, 
wished to extend his influence into Scotland, and oblige his nephew, 
James V., to adopt his religious opinions and declare war against France. 
An invasion by an English army produced no other effect than the burn- 
ing of a few villages; and the death of the Scottish sovereign, in 1542, 
led to a cessation of hostilities. Henry was now at leisure to turn his 
attention to France, whither he sent a numerous army, which took 
Boulogne. After the defection of Charles V. from his alliance, the war 
continued two years longer, but was not marked by any memorable 
event. In virtue of the treaty of 1516, Henry retained his conquests 
until certain sums of money owing by the enemy were paid. 

The end of this extraordinary monarch now rapidly approached; and 
his death, on the 28th of January 1547, saved the life of the Duke of 
Norfolk, who had been condemned to be executed the following morn- 
ing. 

Hall am thus describes Henry's rule and character: — A government ad- 
ministered with so frequent violations not only of the chartered privileges of 
Englishmen, but of those still more sacred rights which national law has 
established, must have been regarded, one would imagine, with just abhorrence 
and earnest longings for a change. Yet contemporary authorities by no means 
answer to this expectation, some mentioning Henry after his death in language 
of eulogy. I do not indeed believe that he had really conciliated his people's 
affection ; for that perfect fear which attended him must have cast out love. 
But he had a few qualities that deserve esteem, and several which a nation is 
pleased to behold in a sovereign. He was without dissimulation ; his manners 
were affable, and his temper generous. Though his schemes of foreign policy 
were not very sagacious, and his wars productive of no material advantage, yet 
they were uniformly successful, and retrieved the honour of the English name. 
But the main cause of the reverence with which our forefathers cherished this 
king's memory, was the share he had taken in the Reformation. They saw 



356 MODERN HISTORY. 

in him not indeed the proselyte of their faith, but the subverter of their enemies 
power — the avenging minister of Heaven, by whose giant arm the chain of 
superstition had been broken, and the prison burst asunder. — Constitutional 
History of England, ch. i. 

Read : Tytler's Life of King Henry VIII. in Edinburgh Cabinet Library. 

Edward VI. had not reached his tenth year when he ascended the 
throne in 1547. Henry had fixed his majority at eighteen, and ap- 
pointed -sixteen executors, assisted by twelve counsellors, to carry on 
the government in the meanwhile. But the young king's uncle, the 
ambitious Earl of Hertford, by securing a majority of the curators, was 
appointed protector of the realm, and created Duke of Somerset. This 
nobleman, being a zealous partisan of the new religious doctrines, edu- 
cated Edward in Protestant principles, and concerted with Cranmer a 
plan of general reform. Yet it was necessary to proceed with caution ; 
and the duke suspended for a time the episcopal authority, appointing 
commissioners to visit the dioceses. Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, 
opposed these proceedings with all his influence ; and to silence so 
powerful an adversary, he was thrown into prison. 

During this time Scotland was more than ever agitated. The murder 
of Cardinal Beaton lighted up the flames of civil war. The queen- 
dowa^er, Mary of Lorraine, asked succour from France, and the Pro- 
testant party had recourse to England. Somerset, who crossed the 
Tweed at the head of 20,000 men, proposed to unite the two kingdoms 
by the marriage of the young queen with Edward, and offered peace as 
the condition. The battle of Pinkey, 1547, in which more than 10,000 
Scots wire left on the field, followed the refusal. Instead of taking 
advantage of this success, the victor returned to London, where cabals 
were forming against him by his brother Lord Seymour, and Dudley, 
earl of Warwick. To secure his popularity, he summoned a parliament, 
which repealed the most hateful laws of Henry VII!., including the 
statute of the Six Articles. Further, private masses were forbidden, and 
the holy communion ordered to be administered in bread and wine, 
while the nomination of bishops became one of the prerogatives of roy- 
alty. In the following year, the parliament enacted that the mass 
should be celebrated in English, adopted the reformed liturgy, and per- 
mitted the marriage of priests. 

Public attention was now directed to the struggles of the protector 
against his brother Lord Seymour, who was one of his greatest enemies. 
The ambition of the latter had been nourished by his marriage with 
Catherine Parr, widow of Henry VIII., on whose death he had aspired 
to the hand of the Princess Elizabeth. He had numerous partisans; 
but being charged with plotting to carry off the king and change the 
government, he was executed on the 20th March 1549. This, however, 
did not terminate the protector's embarrassments ; for Catholic priests 
had stirred up the peasants of Devonshire and Norfolk, and when these 
insurrections were suppressed, he had to contend against the allied 
Scotch and French army. Failing in obtaining foreign aid, and being 
opposed by the powerful Warwick faction, Somerset fell rapidly from 
his lofty station. He was accused of high crimes and misdemeanours, 
and committed to the Tower; but his execution in 1552, and the title of 
Duke of Northumberland conferred on W T arwick, did not satisfy the lat* 
ter nobleman, whc aspired to the supreme authority, founding his ambi- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 357 

tious views on the delicate health of the king. He first persuaded Ed- 
ward to change the order of succession, representing that Mary and 
Elizabeth, having been declared illegitimate by the parliament, could 
not ascend the throne ; that the religion and birth of the Scottish queen 
disqualified her; and that, consequently, the nearest heir was his cousin 
the Marchioness of Dorset, eldest daughter of Mary, sister of Henry 
VIII., by her second husband the duke of Suffolk, and after her, Lady 
Jane Grey, the grand-granddaughter of Henry VII. While the council 
were deliberating on this momentous question, Northumberland effected 
the union of his fourth son, Guildford Dudley, with Lady Jane, and Ed- 
ward VI. expired not long after, in the sixteenth year of his age, July 6, 
1553. 

Immediately on Edward's decease, Northumberland proceeded to pro- 
claim Lady Jane Grey ; but Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII. by his 
first queen, Catherine of Aragon, collected an army, asserted her claims, 
and prevailed over her rival. The unfortunate Jane reigned only ten 
days, — to her a period of sorrow and distress. The duke was beheaded 
in 1553, and Lady Jane and her husband in the following year. 

Mary had determined to re-establish the Roman Catholic worship, but 
she proceeded cautiously, at first liberating Gardiner and other bishops 
from prison, and restoring them to the sees of which they had been 
deprived ; while of the reformed clergy great numbers were ejected. 
Cranmer, doubly hateful to her for the share he had taken in the divorce 
of her mother, and in the establishment of Protestantism, was accused 
of favouring the party of Lady Jane Grey, and condemned for high trea- 
son; but his execution did not take place till three years after. Parlia- 
ment readily abolished the statutes of Edward VI. which were in any- 
wise favourable to the new doctrines, and restored affairs to the state in 
which they were left by the death of Henry VIII., Mary retaining the 
spiritual power and the title of the head of the church only until she 
could restore both into the hands of the Pope. In order more surely to 
accomplish her designs, she contracted a marriage with Philip, son of 
the Emperor Charles V., in 1554. After a sojourn of fourteen months 
in England, the prince returned to Flanders, and soon after inheriting the 
crown of Spain, he thought no more of his queen. Thus was fortu- 
nately defeated a deep-laid plot to tranpfer the kingdom under a foreign 
yoke, and to crush the Protestant religion along with the national inde- 
pendence. 

In the new parliament, which assembled in November 1554, the entire 
re-establishment of the Roman Catholic religion was agreed to, and 
Cardinal Pole was sent from Rome to reconcile England to the holy 
see. Worldly interest entered deeply into this religious change; for 
those who had enriched themselves by the spoils of the church in the 
two preceding reigns, exacted a confirmation of the abbey lands to their 
new proprietors. Under the fanatical Gardiner, it was not to be expected 
that heresy would pass unpunished. The number of persons who suf- 
fered death by fire in Mary's reign has been computed at 300, among 
whom were Archbishop Cranmer, Bishops Latimer, Hooper, and Ridley. 
The Princess Elizabeth was confined in the Tower, on account of her 
extensive influence among the Protestant party. The murmurs of the 
people, the rapid progress of the Reformed doctrines, the indifference of 
her husband, the loss of Calais, and the failure of an expedition to Brest, 



358 MODERN HISTORY. 

all preyed upon the queen's spirits, and hastened her death. She expired 
in 1558, leaving the kingdom to her sister. 

Hallam sums up the character and reign of Mary in the following expressive 
terms: — "Her reign was inglorious, her capacity narrow, and her temper 
sanguinary; although conscientious in some respects, she was as capable of 
dissimulation as her sister, and of breach of faith as her husband ; she obsti- 
nately and wilfully sacrificed her subjects' affections and interest to a misplaced 
and discreditable attachment; and the words with which Carte has concluded 
the character of this unlamented sovereign are perfectly just: — 'Having 
reduced the nation to the brink of ruin, she left it, by her seasonable decease, 
to be restored by her successor to its ancient prosperity and glory.' " — Const. 
Hist. England. 

Elizabeth had been brought up in the religion of her mother, Anne 
Boleyn, and had with difficulty escaped from the trials of the preceding 
reign. Misfortune served only to call forth the strength of her character. 
In her long retirement, occupied in the study of ancient and modern lan- 
guages, and in the pursuits of literature, she prepared herself for the 
great task which Providence had reserved for her. 

Although the divorce of Catherine of Aragon, and Henry's marriage 
with Anne Boleyn, had been ratified by parliament, yet as these acts 
were not acknowledged by the Pope, the zealous Catholics disputed 
Elizabeth's right of succession, and turned their eyes to Mary Stuart, 
who inherited the claims of Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII. 
This princess, married to the dauphin of France, accordingly assumed 
the title of Queen of England, and quartered the English arms with those 
of Scotland and France. Elizabeth now decided upon establishing 
Protestantism, as the safeguard of her throne ; but her first steps were 
marked by her characteristic caution and prudence. She published an 
edict maintaining, until further orders, the services of religion in the 
same form as at the death of Mary, and permitted the prayers and offices 
to be read only in English. She was even consecrated by the Roman 
Catholic bishop of Carlisle, 15th January 1559; but the parliament 
which assembled ten days after abolished the papal supremacy, ordered 
the Book of Common Prayer to be exclusively used, and that all clergy- 
men should swear to the new order of things. The bishops, with one 
exception (Landaff), refused to take the required oath; but among the 
inferior clergy, spread over nearly ten thousand parishes, there were not 
found two hundred to follow their example. The Protestant Church 
of England was thus established in its present form. 

As Elizabeth's greatest difficulties were to be expected from the oppo- 
sition of the Catholics, she endeavoured to promote Protestant principles 
in those states that were most in connexion with her own. In Scotland 
the reformers had made great progress, animated by the zeal ?nd elo- 
quence of Knox; and the dissensions between the two parties in thai 
kingdom were encouraged by Secretary Cecil, in order to weaken the 
power of the queen, and destroy the influence of the French king, her 
husband. The measures pursued were so successful, that when Mary 
returned to Scotland in 1561, she was obliged to renounce all claims to 
the English throne. Elizabeth now turned her views to the internal 
improvement of her own dominions, and the success which accompanied 
her labours excited the admiration of all Europe. 

In 1563, a law was passed commanding all members of the House of 
Commons, teachers, lawyers, and clerks, to take the oath of supremacy; 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 359 

not long after which the Puritans separated from the established church. 
An ecclesiastical convocation was summoned to compose the national 
creed, and the Thirty-nine Articles were drawn up, as they exist at the 
present day. 

The progress of affairs in Scotland was so adverse to Mary Stuart, 
that she was compelled to flee from her own subjects into England, 
where she was immediately imprisoned on the plea of certain crimes 
with which she was charged. The conferences at York and Hampton 
Court, as to her participation in her husband's murder, were far from 
disproving her guilt; while the extensive combination in 1569, to marry 
her to the Duke of Norfolk, gave great disquietude to the cabinet. The 
intrigues of this weak and ambitious nobleman were terminated by his 
death on the scaffold in 1572. The Pope, Pius V., did not remain an 
idle spectator of these transactions. He issued a bull, which, after enu- 
merating Elizabeth's crimes, declared her guilty of heresy, and an- 
nounced that her subjects were absolved from their allegiance. This 
edict, founded on the assumed right vested in the supreme pontiff to 
depose kings for heinous crimes against the church, was far more inju- 
rious in its consequences to those whom it was intended to serve than 
to the sovereign. It elicited two statutes for her security, punishing 
with severity any intercourse with Rome, and all who ventured to deny 
her title. The House of Commons even called for the trial of " the pre- 
tended Scottish queen." 

Elizabeth now began to enjoy tranquillity, her authority being firmly 
established in England, and Scotland governed by her creature Morton. 
Although herself a Protestant, she had not hitherto, from the unsettled 
state of her affairs, interfered directly in the insurrection of the Low 
Countries or the civil war in France. But in 1579, she beheld dangers 
closing around her on every side. The first blow was the disgrace of 
Morton, and the subsequent loss of her influence in Scotland. In 1578, 
she had concluded a treaty with the states-general of Holland, professing 
at the same time a desire to preserve friendly relations with Philip II., 
notwithstanding that Drake, with a privateering squadron, was ravaging 
the Spanish colonies of America. His majesty, to retaliate these indi- 
rect hostilities of the English queen, sent a body of troops into Ireland, 
1579. Her quiet was farther menaced by the plots of the Catholics, to 
counteract which the Protestants formed a solemn association for her 
defence against all enemies, foreign or domestic. Parliament banished 
the Jesuits as well as the priests of the Romish communion, and forbade 
their return under the penalties of high treason. 

The alarm, whether real or feigned is uncertain, which Elizabeth felt 
on account of Queen Mary, caused an increase of severity towards that 
unfortunate princess. Her friends in England were consequently more 
earnest in her cause, and plotted the assassination of their own sovereign. 
A young man, named Babington, managed to open a correspondence 
with the royal prisoner, which however did not long escape the vigi- 
lance of Secretary Walsingham. Means were now found to implicate 
Mary with the conspirators, and she was tried and condemned to death 
by a special commission, 25th October, 1586. On the 8th of February, 
in the following year, the sentence was carried into effect at Fotheringay 
castle. Elizabeth affected grief and anger, put on mourning, and pun- 
ished her secretary, Davison, for having allowed the execution to take 
place without her orders. 



360 MODERN HISTORY. 

When the King of Scotland was informed of the death of his mother, 
he testified the most violent indignation ; but policy soon prevailed ovei 
filial tenderness, and the prospect of one day succeeding Elizabeth in- 
duced him to suppress his resentment. Philip II. had resolved on pun- 
ishing the English queen for the aid she had given to the Low Coun- 
tries, and the eyes of all Europe were fixed on his armaments; but 
before the preparations were completed, Drake, at the head of a gallant 
squadron, burnt a great number of Spanish ships in sight of Lisbon and 
Cadiz, captured the galleons which were on their voyage from America, 
laden with riches, and returned home with an immense booty, 1587. 
At the same time, Walsingham succeeded in getting the Spanish bills 
dishonoured at Genoa, thereby depriving Philip of the resources he 
expected. This manoeuvre, and the terror inspired by Drake, compelled 
the expedition to be deferred until the following year, thus giving 
Elizabeth time to prepare for the defence of her kingdom. 

The " invincible armada," as it was called, consisted of 132 vessels, 
most of them being of unusual magnitude, and mounted 3165 guns. It 
was navigated by 8766 seamen, and carried nearly 22,000 soldiers ; a 
force which was to be augmented by 30,000 men assembled in the 
neighbourhood of Dunkirk. England now appeared animated with one 
sentiment. Exclusive of the levies furnished by the city of London, 
132,000 men were speedily collected where the prospect of invasion was 
most imminent. The queen appeared on horseback in the camp at Til- 
bury, and haranguing the army, exhorted the soldiers to remember their 
duties to their country and their religion. " I am ready," she said, "to 
pour out my blood for God, my kingdom, and my people. I will fight 
at your head ; and although I have but the arm of a woman, I have the 
soul of a king; and what is more, of a king of England." By such 
conduct and language she filled the people with enthusiasm. Her fleet, 
which consisted of only twenty-eight ships, was by the zeal of her 
people soon increased to a hundred and seventeen, having on board 
11,120 men, placed under the orders of the High-admiral Lord Howard 
of Effingham, who was aided by Drake, Hawkins, Lord Henry Sey- 
mour, and Frobisher. The spirit of the Scotch was not inferior to that 
of the English ; they raised troops for the defence of both kingdoms, 
and formed an association, whose object was to maintain their religion 
and government against all enemies, at home or abroad. 

On the 29th of May, 1588, the Spanish armada, under the Duke of 
Medina, sailed from Lisbon ; but a furious tempest next morning drove 
it back into harbour, and it did not reach the Channel before the 19th 
of July. Here it was attacked by the English squadron, which proved 
victorious in five successive engagements. The duke, finding he could 
not form a junction with the troops at Dunkirk, meditated a return to 
Spain, when a storm arose, which destroyed the greater part of his fleet 
on the shores of Orkney and Ireland, so that only 53 ships reached 
home, and these in a shattered condition. The event was celebrated in 
England with great rejoicings, and a medal struck in commemora- 
tion, bearing the inscription, Bens afflavit et dissipantur. The destruc- 
tion of the armada was a fatal blow to Spain ; English cruisers covered 
all the seas, ravaged her coasts, and plundered her colonies. 

Henceforward the reign of Elizabeth was less disturbed. The death 
of Mary Stuart, and the Protestant sentiments of her son, had entirely 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 361 

mined the hopes of the Catholics; while the cause of the Reformation 
was supported in Holland by British auxiliaries. Philip, in revenue, 
stirred up the Irish Catholics to revolt. On a given 4ay there was a 
general massacre of the English, — a detestable treachery, that only 
served to call down upon their country the wrath of the queen. The 
Earl of Essex was sent over at the head of a large army, and with 
unlimited power, but this favourite was recalled to perish on the scaf- 
fold, 1601. The death of Elizabeth followed not long after, havino- 
been accelerated, if we may believe the common rumour, by her regret 
at the untimely fate of the earl. At the age of seventy years, and after 
a glorious reign of nearly half a century, she expired on the 24th March 
1603, leaving the sceptre to James VI. of Scotland. 

Scotland. — This country had suffered greatly from its wars with 
England, against which the alliance of France proved but an uncertain 
protection. The chivalrous temper of James IV. led him to seek the 
chief support of his crown in the great feudatories ; but he prematurely 
perished in the disastrous battle of Flodden, 1513. During the minority 
of James V., his mother, Margaret of England, disputed the regency 
with the Duke of Albany. But this contest was of little importance, 
compared with the great change operating by the introduction of the 
Reformed doctrines, about 1530. James V., who had married a French 
princess, Mary of Lorraine, died in 1542, leaving an only child, Mary, 
afterwards united to the dauphin. Under the regency of the queen- 
mother, the Reformation rapidly proceeded; and Cardinal Beaton, who 
virtually administered the government, attempting to check it by violence, 
perished by assassination. Excited by the enthusiastic eloquence of 
John Knox, the people rose in insurrection, stripped the Catholic 
churches of their ornaments, and in many places totally destroyed them. 
An army was immediately collected to punish these disorders, when the 
Protestants united themselves still more closely by a treaty or covenant, 
at the head of which was James Stewart, a natural son of James V., 
and sought the assistance of Elizabeth. Taking advantage of the 
absence of their queen in France, the people, who had subdued the 
Catholic party, gave their new church a regular form of government. 
Professing the doctrines of the Reformers of Geneva, they abolished 
Episcopacy, and established an ecclesiastical republic, or Presbyterian- 
ism. The return of Queen Mary to Scotland, 1561, was the beginning 
of the misfortunes of that unhappy princess. Her education in the 
court of France made the cold and rough manners of her new subjects 
intolerable, while her adherance to the Roman Catholic religion was far 
from conciliating their affections. The sudden and violent death of her 
husband, Darnley, and her subsequent marriage with Bothwell, drove 
the people into revolt. Her forces were defeated at Carberry Hill, and 
she was confined in Lochleven castle ; having escaped, she was again 
defeated at Langside, and compelled to take refuge in England, 1568, 
leaving the kingdom in the hands of the Earl of Moray, as regent for 
her infant son, James VI. 

Ireland. — This country, the origin of whose inhabitants is somewhat 
obscure, had been governed by native princes until 1172, when Henry 
II. Plantagenet, taking advantage of its intestine troubles, seized upon 
the kingdom, and conferred the government upon his son John, by 
whom it was united to England in 1210. But successive revolutions 
31 



362 MODERN HISTORY. 

disturbed the country, and it was not entirely subdued before the end of 
the sixteenth century. Henry VIII. ruled it with a stern and systematic 
despotism, and almost entirely destroyed the ancient family of the Ge- 
raidines. Laws were now enacted to establish the English dress and 
language, and to prevent the colonists from holding intercourse with the 
natives. The royal authority, after being in abeyance about two hun- 
dred years, was recognised in Ulster and Connaught. The accession 
of Elizabeth was a crisis in Irish history: in her reign the Protestant 
church was established, and all subjects were bouud to attend its public 
services. The violent manner in which these laws were attempted to 
be enforced aggravated the rebellious spirit of the Irish and drove them 
to insurrection. The insurgents were with difficulty put down ; and 
their crime was punished with so much severity, that the counties of 
Cork and Keny, the patrimony of the Earl of Desmond, were reduced 
to a barren waste. 

At an early period in the history of Ireland, the chieftainships were subject to 
the law of tanistry, i. e. that the lands and dignity descended to the eldest and 
most worthy of the same blood, the claims of seniority being controlled by a 
due regard to desert. The landowners, not of noble rank, held their posses- 
sions by the tenure of gavel-kind, which was not an equal partition, as in 
England, but the chief of the sept to which the deceased belonged was entitled 
to divide the patrimony as he pleased, allotting to the lineal heirs a portion with 
the rest of the tribe. Justice was administered in each sept by judges called 
bretons, selected from certain families. The government of Ireland was en- 
tirely aristocratic, the condition of the common people being little different 
from slavery. 

FRANCE. 

Louis XII., 1498, ascended the throne of France at the age of thirty- 
six. He added to his regal titles those of Duke of Milan, and King of 
the Two Sicilies and of Jerusalem, — thus declaring his intention of fol- 
lowing in the steps of Charles VIII. His claims to the duchy were 
derived from his paternal grandmother, Valentina Visconti, a descendant 
of the ducal family of that name. 

Trained in the school of misfortune, this prince had learnt to be just; 
and, by his generous and beneficent character, deservedly bore the title 
of Father of his People. His chief minister was Amboise, archbishop 
of Rouen, the early period of whose government was employed in use- 
ful reforms, and in diminishing an oppressive taxation, although the 
country was engaged in w T ar. The troops were subjected to regular dis- 
cipline, fixed garrisons appointed, and a stated subsistence provided for 
them. He moreover improved the administration of justice by shorten- 
ing the usual law-processes and their expenses. 

Almost the first act of Louis' reign was to dissolve his marriage with 
Joan of France, whom he had been compelled to espouse by Louis XL 
He w r edded his second wife, Anne of Brittany, the widow of Charles 
VIII. , as much from policy as inclination, since the alienation of the 
duchy was thereby prevented. On her death he married Mary, sister 
of Henry VIII. of England, which was the means of obtaining peace 
after the defeat at Guinegate, better known as the Battle of the Spurs, 
from the knights making greater use of these in their flight than of their 
lances in the attack. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. t!63 

Claude de Seyssel, bishop of Marseilles, in a work on the Monarchy of 
France, has left us a valuable picture of the constitution of that country during 
this reign. The royal authority was limited by the states-general and the 
parliaments. The former, meeting only for important cases, and not being 
regularly convoked according to a fixed law, possessed little real influence. 
The parliaments, composed of permanent magistrates, registered the edicts, 
and could remonstrate against them: so that these two bodies, although im- 
perfectly constituted for successful opposition, could in some measure restrain 
the abuse of authority. The Court of Accompts verified the public expendi- 
ture, and had the power of retrenching whatever appeared unnecessary. It 
also watched over the preservation of the royal domain, which provided for the 
personal expenses of the sovereign. These several guarantees against despo- 
tism, although far inferior to those afforded by the representative system, 
characterize the monarchy of this period as more constitutional than is generally 
supposed. 

The different orders in society, although distinct and unequal, were not so 
hostile as may be imagined. The clergy had rich benefices and great privileges, 
but their ranks were open to all classes. The nobility were exempt from taxe3 
of every denomination ; but in war they served the state gratuitously, and were 
forbidden to engage in any mechanical or secular profession. The upper 
burghers or commons possessed the judicial and financial offices, which gave 
them great influence in society. These were not interdicted to the nobles, but 
they generally preferred a military career. Fortune and talent were the means 
of raising the merchants and lawyers to the higher class ; as this last might be 
ennobled by the king in reward of meritorious service. 

Italian Wars. — Before commencing his first Italian campaign, the 
French monarch endeavoured to strengthen his cause by numerous 
alliances. Pope Alexander VI. became his friend, as did his illegiti- 
mate son, Csesar Borgia, upon whom was conferred the duchy of Valen- 
tinois ; and the kings of England and Spain, with the republic of Venice, 
formed treaties of alliance with him. Sforza, better known as Ludovico 
the Moor, was without a friend ; but Bajazet II., the grand sultan, in- 
directly afforded him assistance by attacking the Venetians, against 
whom he had declared war. 

At the close of July, 1499, the French army, composed of 1600 lances, 
and 13,000 infantry, including 5000 Swiss, crossed the Alps under the 
command of Marshal Trivulzio. All the strong places opened their 
gates. Milan itself deserted the tyrant Ludovico, who was obliged to 
seek an asylum with the Emperor Maximilian at Innsbruck. The con- 
quest of the duchy was completed in twenty days. Louis XII., who 
made a triumphal entry into the capital, exercised his rights of sove- 
reignty by diminishing the taxes and regulating the courts of justice. 
Trivulzio was appointed governor ; but his violence prepared the way 
for the return of Sforza, whose re-appearance in the Milanese at the 
head of 10,000 Swiss was the signal for a general revolt. The duke 
re-entered his capital in February 1500, amid the shouts of those who 
had driven him into exile a few months before. The French returned 
soon after his restoration, when the Swiss, who had fought under his 
banner, deserted in a body. He sought safety in flight; but was made 
prisoner, and kept in close confinement at the castle of Loches, in Berri. 
until his death in 1510. 

Louis, now thinking himself firmly established in the Milanese, 
turned his thoughts to Naples. Frederick, too weak to dispute the 
kingdom, offered advantageous conditions, which were rejected ; and 
finding that the French still advanced towards Naples, he surrendered 



364 MODERN HISTORY. 

to the invader, who sent him to Tours, where he died in 1504. The 
French and Spaniards now began to quarrel about the division of the 
spoil ; but after two campaigns, the latter remained in possession of the 
kingdom of Naples. Three armies and two fleets were soon prepared 
by Louis to avenge his honour, but they all failed in their object. The 
succession of Julius II. to the papal throne led to the treaty of Cam- 
bray in 1508, by which Louis, the Emperor Maximilian, Ferdinand of 
Spain, and the Pope united against Venice. By the battle of Agna- 
dello, gained by the French, the Venetians were driven from the conti- 
nent and confined to their isles. The allies took possession of the 
deserted cities, but did not occupy them long; for, in 1510, Julius II. 
became reconciled with the republic, and in the next year succeeded in 
drawing Ferdinand, Henry VIII., and Maximilian to his side. France 
bravely made head against her enemies. Gaston de Foix, at the age 
of twenty-two, repelled a body of 16,000 troops engaged in invading 
the Milanese, raised the siege of Bologna, defeated the Venetians, re- 
covered Brescia from them, and gained the battle of Ravenna, in which 
he fell, pierced by sixteen wounds, 1512. After Gaston's death, Louis 
experienced several reverses in Italy ; and the Sforzas were established 
at Milan, and the Medici at Florence. The war had now no longer 
any object. Louis therefore concluded a treaty with Ferdinand of 
Spain, and abjured the council of Pisa, which had authorized his oppo- 
sition to the head of the church. He died in 1515. 

Francis I., immediately on his accession, invaded Lombardy with a 
powerful army. The Swiss valiantly opposed his troops at Marignano; 
for two days the victory was obstinately contested, and at last the moun- 
taineers, though defeated, retired in good order. The alliance now 
formed with Pope Leo X. and with the Venetians seemed to open the 
way to Naples. Charles of Austria, who had succeeded his grand- 
father Ferdinand on the Spanish throne, was desirous of peace, that he 
might consolidate his vast inheritance. Francis hesitated to profit by 
his victory; and the treaty of Noyon, in 1516, gave a temporary repose 
to Kurope. 

The elevation of Charles to the imperial dignity gave rise to a long 
period of rivalry between that prince and the King of France, 1519. 
Taking advantage of the departure of the emperor for Germany, Francis, 
on pretext of recovering Navarre for John d'Albret, sent an army into 
Spain; where, however, it was defeated, and compelled to recross the 
Pyrenees. The war was now prosecuted in the Low Countries, France, 
and Italy, with varitd success. In the latter country, the troops of the 
empire were commanded by the Constable Bourbon, a prince of the 
blood-royal of France, who, in consequence of the injuries inflicted on 
him by the queen-mother, had deserted his native country. The French 
under Bonnivet were defeated at Rebec, where the celebrated Chevalier 
Bayard fell, 1524; and in the subsequent year the king, who command- 
ed in person at the battle of Pavia, was made prisoner. The captive 
was taken to Madrid, and there kept under a strict guard. In January 
1526, a treaty was signed by which he agreed to renounce all his claims 
on Italy and the sovereignty of Flanders and Artois, restore Burgundy, 
give his two eldest sons as hostages, and marry Eleanor, the emperor's 
sister. These Irani conditions, extorted by force, were not strictly exe- 
cuted. An assembly of notables, convened at Cognac, declared against 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 365 

the treaty, and their decision was confirmed by a similar body, which 
met in Paris. At the same time, his majesty concluded an alliance 
with Clement VII., Venice, the Duke of Milan, and Henry VIII. The 
war was terminated in 1529 by the treaty of Cambray ; Charles gave 
up his hostages, and Eleanor was married to the French monarch. 

In 153G, Francis invaded Savoy and Piedmont; but Charles, hasten- 
ing to meet the French troops, drove them across the Alps, and entered 
Provence at the head of 50,000 men. While he was detained by the 
siege of Marseilles, another army ravaged Champagne and Picardy. 
Marshal Montmorency saved Provence and Dauphiny by devastating 
the country through which the imperialists would have to advance. In 
1538, a truce for ten years was concluded at Nice by the intervention 
of Pope Paul III. An interview between the two sovereigns appeared 
to give promise of a lasting peace, and these hopes were increased by 
the circumstance of the emperor being permitted to pass through France, 
to quell a revolt at Ghent. Scarcely four years of tranquillity, how- 
ever, were allowed to elapse before hostilities recommenced. To the 
astonishment of Christendom, an Ottoman fleet, united with a French 
squadron, undertook the siege of Nice. But Andrew 7 Doria, the cele- 
brated Genoese admiral, then in the service of Austria, repelled both, 
and defeated the Turks in several engagements. The victory of Cerri- 
soles, near Carignano, gained by Francis, was more glorious than 
advantageous. An alliance of Henry VIII. with Charles V. exposed 
Paris to the greatest risk ; for the latter had become master of Epernay 
and Chateau-Thierry. It was fortunate for France that the religious 
disturbances in Germany demanded the undivided attention of the 
emperor ; and the peace of Crespy in Valois terminated the contests be- 
tween the two great rivals, 1544. The French monarch expired in 1547. 

Battle of St. Quentin. — Henry II., who, in 1547, succeeded his 
father at the age of twenty-nine, recovered Boulogne from the English, 
and compelled Charles V. to raise the siege of Metz. The war with 
Spain and England began in 1557, in which one of the armies of Philip 
II., commanded by the Duke of Savoy, blockaded St. Quentin. The 
Constable Montmorency advanced to throw r troops and provisions into 
the place, when his army suffered a dreadful reverse, and the town was 
shortly after taken by assault. The Duke of Guise, who had been 
recalled from Italy, retook Calais, stormed Guines, and by his successes 
hastened the conclusion of peace. In a tournament given on the occa- 
sion of the marriage of Henry's sister Margaret with the Duke of 
Savoy, and of his daughter Elizabeth with Philip II., the king was 
accidentally wounded in the eye by the lance of the Count de Mont- 
gomery, a captain of the Scottish guard, and died eleven days after- 
wards, 1559. 

The Factions. — Francis II., the husband of Mary Stuart, queen of 
Scotland, w 7 ho was about sixteen when he ascended the throne, proved 
a passive instrument in the hands of faction. On the one side w r ere the 
Bourbons or princes of the blood-royal, Anthony, king of Navarre, and 
Prince Louis of Conde ; on the other was the family of the Guises, con- 
sisting of six brothers, — whose leaders were the Duke Francis, who 
had gained a high military reputation in the last campaigns, and Charles, 
cardinal of Lorraine, whose vast erudition and fiery zeal against the 
Huguenots had placed him at the head of the French clergy. The 
31* 



«3bb modern history. 

Constable Montmorency and his nephews, the two Colignis, formed *. 
third party, which expected to hold the balance between the other two. 

The Guises, at this time all-powerful, held the king in tutelage, the 
nation was enslaved, and the 'princes of the blood were banished. It 
was not to be expected that they could maintain their power unassailed ; 
and we find, accordingly, that Conde formed a very extensive conspi- 
racy, the object of which was to seize them and the king. The plot 
was discovered through the indiscretion of one of the leaders, and 
several of the conspirators were arrested and suffered death. This 
event, known in history as the conspiracy of Amboise, contributed to 
increase their influence ; and under the title of lieutenant-general of the 
kingdom, the duke possessed nearly equal power with the ancient 
mayors of the palace. This he employed to destroy Conde, who, in 
defiance of numerous warnings, imprudently went to Orleans, at the 
invitation of his majesty. He was immediately arrested ; the conspiracy 
just noticed, and other charges, were alleged against him, and by an 
extraordinary tribunal he was condemned to death ; but, in consequence 
of the demise of Francis, 1560, the sentence was not carried into effect. 

Charles IX., at the age of ten years, succeeded his brother ; and 
Catherine of Medici held the reins of government, without, however, 
assuming the title of regent. Louis of Conde was restored to liberty ; 
the Constable Montmorency was received into favour; while the queen- 
mother, on her side, endeavoured to create a third party. 

At a meeting of the states-general in Orleans, the clergy fulminated 
against the Huguenots ; while the tiers etat demanded a reform of the 
clergy, whose vices, they alleged, were the cause of all the troubles. 
The nobles besides insisted on freedom of worship for the Huguenots,* 
who at this epoch were calculated to amount to a sixth or a fourth of the 
population. Many of them had taken up arms in different parts of 
France in defence of the reformed religion ; and their numbers compelled 
the Catholic party to treat them with moderation, until the decision of 
a national council should be known. A conference was appointed to 
take place at Poissy ; and although no formula of faith could be adopted 
likely to unite all parties, an edict was issued in 1562, by which the 
Protestants were allowed to preach outside the towns. Soon afterwards 
a body of Huguenots, who had met to worship in a barn at Vassy in 
Champagne, were attacked by the retinue of the Duke of Guise, sixty 
rf their number murdered, and more than 200 wounded. This atrocity 
was the signal for a general rising, and the prelude to the first civil 
war. 

First Civil War, 1562. — The parties in this conflict were the Guises 
in amity with Montmorency, who was master of the king's person ; and 
Louis of Conde, with Coligni and d'Andelot. The court faction had 
the ascendency in Paris, and in the provinces of Picardy, Champagne, 
Brittany, Burgundy, and Guienne. The Protestants were superior in 
the west and south, especially in Rouen, Orleans, Blois, Tours, Angers, 
Le Mans, Poitiers, Bourges, Angouleme, La Rochelle, Montaubafi, and 
Lyons. But being thus isolated, they could not co-operate with then 
brethren in Germany and the Low Countries. 



* Tlie derivation of this word is much disputed. Tt is probably another form of Eignot 
(from the German, eignossen). a name {riven to the Germans who entered into alliance 
with the Swiss cantons to maintain their liberties against Savoy. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 367 

The first pitched battle was fought at Dreux in Normandy, 1562, 
where the royal army was commanded by Montmorency, who was taken 
prisoner at the first onset. Guise, however, won the field and captured 
the Prince of Conde; and Admiral Coligni, who succeeded to the com- 
mand of the Huguenot host, was compelled to retreat. The death of 
Guise at the siege of Orleans restored Catherine's authority, which was 
consolidated by the convention of Amboise, 1563, allowing the Protest- 
ants the free exercise of their religion. 

Second Civil War, 1567. — The pacification just mentioned was 
scarcely concluded, before its terms were modified by the court; the 
Huguenot party still demanding securities, which their opponents de- 
layed to give. A journey of the king and his mother into the southern 
provinces, and the interview of the latter with the Duke of Alva at 
Bayonne, when plans were concerted for the extirpation of the new 
opinions, were soon followed by another war. Rochelle now became 
the rallying point vi' the reformed party. Since the reign of Charles V. 
this city had exercised the right of coining money; its mayors and prin- 
cipal authorities were reputed noble; besides which, with many other 
privileges, it enjoyed an extensive commerce, and possessed great influ- 
ence in Aunis, Saintonge, and Angoumois. At Jarnac, on the banks of 
the Charente, the insurgents were defeated by superior numbers, 1569; 
and their brave leader, the Prince of Conde, who had been made pri- 
soner, was assassinated after the battle by a captain of the Duke of An- 
jou's guards. Coligni once more saved the relics of the conquered army. 
The widowed Queen of Navarre, Joan of Albret, carried her son Henry, 
prince of Beam, to the camp, and presented him to the troops, by whom 
he was recognised as head of the Protestant party. They were, how- 
ever, again defeated at Moncontour, in Poitou, where the royal youth 
fought by the side of the admiral. 

Massacre of St. Bartholomew, 1572. — A peace was concluded in 
1570 at St. Germain. Catherine accorded favourable conditions to the 
Huguenots ; but she had long been meditating a blow more deadly than 
all the preceding defeats. Henry, now king of Navarre, received in 
1572 the hand of Margaret of France, the youngest of her daughters; 
and to add to the splendour of this marriage, the leading members of the 
Protestant party were invited to Paris. On the 22d August, as Coligni 
was returning home from a conference with the king at the Louvre, his 
life was attempted by an assassin at the instigation of the queen-mother, 
jy whom Charles was easily brought to consent to a general massacre 
of his Protestant subjects. The night of the 23d August, St. Bartholo- 
mew's eve, was the time fixed for the perpetration of a deed which has 
covered with infamy the memory of every one engaged in it. The admi- 
ral was one of the first victims : after being murdered, his head was cut 
off, carried to the queen as a trophy, and, being embalmed, was subse- 
quently transmitted to Rome. During three days the massacre was 
continued in the streets and in private houses ; even in the royal palace 
some of the retainers of the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde 
were assassinated before their masters' eyes. Henry and the young 
prince were spared only on condition of abjuring their religion within 
three days. Neither rank nor age was exempted : in the capital there 
suffered 500 gentlemen, with 10,000 persons of inferior station; while 
hot fewer than 70,000 individuals fell throughout the entire kingdom. 



368 MODERN HISTORY. 

Public thanksgivings were offered up at Rome and Madrid for the suc- 
cess of a crime which Thuanus, himself a Roman Catholic, stigmatizes 
as " a ferocious cruelty, without a parallel in all antiquity."* Charles 
IX. died in 1574, in great agony of body and mind. 

The League. — Henry III., the conqueror at Jarnac and Moncontour, 
who had been elected King of Poland, returned hastily to France on the 
news of his brother's death. The new monarch, who endeavoured to 
play the parties against each other, gave favourable terms to the reform- 
ers, now headed by his brother the Duke of Anjou and the young King 
of Navarre. To the former he ceded Anjou, Touraine, and Eerri; reli- 
gious toleration was permitted everywhere, except in Paris ; Protestants 
were to form half of each parliament ; and the cities of Angouleme, IS'iort, 
La Charite, Courges, Saumur, and Mezieres, were to be held by Hugue- 
not garrisons. The Catholic party, directed by the Duke of Guise, were 
far from being satisfied with this arrangement. They formed the cele- 
brated compact known as the Catholic League, 1577; and the king, with 
the view of controlling it, declared himself its head. The ostensible 
object of this association was to promote the ascendency of the Romish 
faith ; but it also secretly contemplated the deposition of the dynasties 
of Valois and Bourbon, in virtue of an anathema by Pope Stephen II. in 
752 against the usurper Hugh Capet, and the placing of Guise on the 
throne, on condition that he should engage to suppress the liberties of 
the Gallican church. 

In 1584, died Francis duke of Anjou, on his return from an expedition 
into the Low Countries ; and by his decease the King of Navarre be- 
came the presumptive heir to the crown. It was about this time that a 
popular society was formed among the leaguers, more violent in its 
principles, and which was called the Sixteen, from the number of its 
directing committee, each of whom became a religious agitator in so 
many quarters of Paris. 

The Barricades. — Henry III. gave himself up to the debauchery of 
his capital ; and, although he practised every external act of devotion, 
became the object of public contempt, and was daily exposed to some 
new attack on the part of the Sixteen. Guise, who had been forbidden 
to enter Paris, openly defied the royal prohibition, and on his arrival a 
general rising was organized. The League took up arms; barricades 
were erected ; and chains stretched across the streets. The king's troops 
were gradually driven back to the Louvre; and he himself made a nar- 
row escape to Chartres, 1588. From this place he negotiated with 
Guise, nominated him generalissimo of his armies, and promised to con- 
voke the states-general at Blois, to deliberate on the articles proposed 
by the League. This assembly met on the 4th October 1588; but its 
first measures disappointed the monarch's expectations. The spirit of 
Rome appeared to animate the deputies; and Henry soon discovered that 



*ProtPstant writers endeavour to prove— and their arguments are very powerful — 
that the massacre of St. Bartholomew had been premeditated for nearly two years, if not 
longer; and that the nuptials of Henry of Beam and Mariraret of Valois were only a 
pretext for drawing the chief Huguenots to Paris. But whether it was premeditated or 
not for so long a period ; whether the kinc and his mother were the sole contrivers 
whether a greater or less number of victims fell than above stated,— are questions of 
little importance: it was planned, organized, and executed, facts which admit of no 
palliation, and must eternally brand the memory of Charles, Catherine, and their 
counsellors. 



, SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 369 

his enemies would prove successful, unless he anticipated them by some 
bold measure. He therefore determined to assassinate the duke; and, 
accordingly, on the morning of the 23d December, he was killed when 
entering the royal chamber. His brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine, was 
murdered the next day while the king was at mass. 

On the news of these events many towns rose in revolt. The sove- 
reign was regarded as the assassin : the pope excommunicated him ; the 
Sorbonne declared the throne vacant, and his subjects were released 
from their fidelity ; while the faction of the Sixteen flung into the Bas- 
tile those members of the parliament who still showed any attachment 
to the monarchy. Henry ultimately sought the alliance of the King of 
Navarre, whom he had long treated as an enemy, and at the head of the 
united forces, Catholic and Huguenot, he advanced to besiege Paris; 
but at the moment his affairs were taking a favourable turn, his career 
was checked by the dagger of Jacques Clement, August 2, 1589, and in 
him the house of Valois became extinct. 

The Bourbons. — Davila regards the transactions which led to the 
advancement of Henry IV. to the throne, " as one of the most surprising 
arrangements of the providential government of the world." Even the 
manner of his predecessor's death determined many of the Catholic party 
to attach themselves to this prince, rather than to the League, which had 
countenanced so unjustifiable a deed. Deserted by the royal army, the 
new king retired into Normandy, followed by the Duke of Mayenne at 
the head of the troops of the League, who had already proclaimed his 
uncle, the Cardinal Charles of Bourbon. Having received an aid of 
money and reinforcements from England, he was however enabled to 
keep the field ; and his troops, though inferior in number, being superior 
in valour to those of the duke, he defeated him at Arques in 1589, and 
next year gained the decisive battle of Ivry. After some delay, he laid 
siege to Paris, and when so employed received notice that death had 
removed his rival, and that a solemn decree of the Sorbonne had declared 
him incapable, as a heretic, of mounting the throne of France. Already 
30,000 victims had fallen, when the generous enemy relaxed his rigour, 
and allowed all but the military to retire. Peace was at length restored 
to the country, and he became the king of a united people by his abjura- 
tion of Protestantism, 1593. He entered the metropolis on the 22d 
March 1591. The parliament was immediately re-established ; all its 
decisions since 1588 were cancelled, and the decrees of the last assem- 
bly held at Paris annulled. In 1598, a memorable ordonnance termi- 
nated the religious quarrels which had distracted France during thirty- 
six years. The edict of Nantes granted to the Protestants the public 
exercise of their worship, the enjoyment of the rights of citizenship, and 
free admission to all employments and judicial offices ; while, in other 
respects, they preserved their importance as a political party. Having 
secured peace to his country by a treaty with Spain, the young sovereign, 
aided by his wise and virtuous minister, Sully, devoted the remainder 
of his reign to the restoration of order and general improvement. 

ITALIAN PENINSULA. 

Naples and Milan. — Throughout the first half of the sixteenth cen- 
tury, the Italian peninsula was the scene of almost incessait contests, 



370 MODERN H1STOEY. 

arising out of the claims of the French monarchs to the possession of 
these two states. Charles VIII. of France having taken possession of 
Naples in 1494, a general league of the Italian powers was formed 
against him, his troops were driven from the country, and Ferdinand II. 
ascended the throne. He was succeeded by his uncle Frederick, who, 
being threatened by Louis XII., applied for assistance to his relative, 
Ferdinand of Spain. This last sent Gonsalvo de Cordova, his captain- 
general in Sicily, into Naples ; but, instead of rendering the aid demand- 
ed, a secret treaty was entered into with Louis for the partition of the 
kingdom. This nefarious transaction accordingly took place, 1496 ; but 
Louis granted to the dethroned monarch the duchy of Anjou, with a 
pension. The plunderers soon quarrelled about the division of the spoil, 
which was decided by the battle of Creignola, 1503, where Gonsalvo 
gained a complete victory, and drove the French from the country. 
Naples thenceforth continued an appanage of the Spanish crown, go- 
verned by viceroys. 

Louis XII. began his wars in 1499, by a treaty with Venice for the 
partition of the Milanese, when Ludovico Sforza was left without an 
ally — the Turks alone making a diversion in his favour. He was shortly 
after betrayed into the hands of the French king, by whom he was im- 
prisoned till his death, ten years later. Various alternations of success 
followed ; and the territory was occasionally in the hands of the French 
and of the Sforzas, until after the battle of Pavia in 1525, when it fell 
into the possession of Charles V. Ten years subsequently, the male 
line of the Sforzas having become extinct, the emperor, who still retained 
possession, granted the duchy to his son Philip, as a vice-royalty of 
Spain. The wars consequent on these arrangements are detailed under 
the respective heads of France and Germany. 

The French invasion in 1494 appears to have been courted by most of the 
powers of Italy : — Ludovico and John Galeazzo hoped to profit by the arrival 
of Charles VIII: ; the Florentines were eager to throw off the yoke of the 
Medici ; Pope Alexander VI. was jealous of the authority of Ferdinand of 
Spain; the Venetians desired the humiliation of the house of Aragon, and the 
numerous enemies of this family in the kingdom of Naples sought revenge for 
a long period of oppression. 

In Florence two parties divided the state. Jerome Savonarola, a native of 
Ferrara, a man of ardent imagination, and who had early embraced a religious 
life, thought himself commissioned by Heaven to reform Christendom. He 
began by preaching on the Apocalypse at Florence in 1489, where he continued 
his exhortations during eight years, mingling politics with religion. An enthu- 
siast in the pulpit and a demagogue in the public places, he gradually became 
the idol of the people and the leader of the anti-Medk-ian party. At the 
approach of Charles, he declared that monarch to be the envo}r of Heaven, the 
predestined instrument of reform. Peter de Medici, intimidated by the sensa- 
tion produced by his harangues, and unable to contend at once against internal 
tumult and foreign aggression, submitted to Charles VIII. ; for which the 
enraged populace drove him into banishment, and the government of Florence 
became an aristocracy. The Medici were restored in 1532 by Charles V. after 
the treaty ot Cambray. Savonarola, having been excommunicated by the 
Pope, was tried for sedition and blasphemy, and being condemned to death, 
was burnt in 1498. 

At this epoch there was a great and important difference between the French 
and Italian armies. The former were chiefly composed of gentlemen, animated 
by the desire of glory ; and, being paid by the king, they were always well 
equipped and complete. The latter were, on the contrary, a crowd of adven- 
turers and peasants, hired by the chiefs named Condottieri, who had neither 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 371 

love of fame nor attachment to the prince who paid them. Solely bent on gain, 
.hese captains passed with their troops from one side to the other under the 
most trivial pretexts ; and in battle their chief aim was to make prisoners for 
the sake of ransom. The Italian cannons were of iron, and difficult to manage, 
while those of France were of bronze. In such circumstances Charles might, 
with ordinary prudence, have obtained a permanent footing in Italy ; but the 
arrogance and injustice of the French alienated all parties, and finally led to 
their expulsion from the country. 

" During the whole period of the French wars the wretchedness inflicted on 
Italy by the foreign soldiery, and especially by those mutinous robbers who 
composed the armies of the Empire and of Spain, was such as had not been 
exceeded in any age of her eventful history. Cities were plundered and burnt, 
rural districts were converted into wastes, families were despoiled and dis- 
honoured, individuals were imprisoned, tortured, and put to death. And yet, 
over this blood-stained arena, on which a nation, summoning up its expiring 
strength, fought unwisely though not ingloriously its last battle for independence 
— over this wild and troubled scene, where danger stalked without and treason 
lurked within — genius diffused a radiant light, that died away after peace had 
revived, hand in hand with bondage. Almost all the greatest of those names 
that make the modern Italians proud of the sixteenth century, presented them- 
selves in groups which disappeared before the age had proceeded halfway 
towards its close." — Italy, Edinburgh Cabinet Library, vol. ii. p. 263. 

Savoy and Piedmont. — The house of Savoy was founded in the 
beginning of the eleventh century, when Berold possessed its lands, as 
an ancient province of the kingdom of Burgundy. By intermarriages, 
by taking advantage of the civil dissensions of the country, and par- 
ticularly by those in France, its territories were gradually extended ; 
but, w T hen Duke Charles III. died in 1553, a great part of his domin- 
ions was seized by the French and Spaniards. The troubles w 7 hich 
soon after broke out induced Charles IX. to restore to Savoy the strong 
places which he still occupied in Piedmont. Emanuel Philibert, as 
well as his son Charles Emanuel, who succeeded in 1580, had nothing 
to apprehend from France, then distracted by the religious wars. Charles 
even went so far as to invade Piovence and Dauphiny, in 1590, and 
disputed the possession of these provinces with his powerful neighbour. 

Genoa. — The aristocratic constitution which Andrew Doria had given 
the Genoese, did not satisfy many of the turbulent and factious repub- 
licans. In January 1547, a conspiracy was headed by John Louis 
Fieschi ; all the more important posts were seized ; Gianettino, the 
nephew of Andrew, upon whom the government had devolved, was 
stabbed in the streets ; his aged relative escaped with difficulty, and 
every thing had succeeded beyond expectation, when the leader himself 
perished. His partisans submitted to their rivals, who punished the 
most guilty by banishment or death. 

After suppressing this conspiracy, Doria continued to exercise the 
supreme authority in Genoa, until his death in 1560, at the age of 
ninety-four. During the remainder of the century, this state, disturbed 
by its revolted subjects without, did not enjoy internal repose, in conse- 
quence of the differences between the old and new nobilitv. These 
dissensions ran so high as to give Don John of Austria a hope of mas- 
tering the city, wiien he lay in its port with the fleet that afterwards 
gained the battle of Lepanto, 1571. The disputes between the factions 
were referred to the arbitration of the Pope, the Emperor, and the King 
of Spain, by whom the constitution was modified, and the privileges of 
♦he nobles augmented, 1576. Tranquillity was thus re-established, and 
the Genoese enjoyed peace during the succeeding fifty years. 



372 MODERN HISTORY. 

Venice. — The league of Cambray, 1508, armed the half of Europe 
against this single state. Venice, long confining her power to the sea, 
had, as early as 1274, forbidden her citizens to acquire any possessions 
on the mainland ; but, gradually departing from her ancient maxims, 
she had made large acquisitions at the expense of her neighbours. To 
enforce the abandonment of these conquests, Louis, Maximilian, the 
Pope, and Ferdinand of Spain, formed a coalition; but the glory as 
well as the charges of this impolitic war devolved upon France. The 
battle of Ao-nadello, in 1509, destroyed the continental power of Venice ; 
after which, his Holiness seized upon Rimini, Faenza, and Ravenna; 
the troops of Maximilian, advancing through Friuli, captured Verona, 
Vicenza, Padua, and Trieste ; the Spaniards retook the cities of Trani, 
Brindisi, and Taranto ; while Brescia, Bergamo, and Cremona, fell to 
Louis. The Venetians, although driven to the shelter of their lagunes, 
did not despair; and, taking advantage of a trivial success, entered 
upon negotiations with the pontiff, who formed a treaty with them, 21th 
February 1510. After exhausting her strength in resisting the league 
of Cambray, Venice sunk into comparative obscurity. Two unsuccess- 
ful wars with the Turks deprived her of the islands in the Archipelago, 
and of Cyprus, her most valuable colony, 1570. The fear of the Otto- 
mans induced the government to form an alliance with Austria; and, 
during the remainder of the sixteenth century, her history contains little 
worthy of attention. 

Tuscany - . — After the treaty of Cambray, the Florentines continuing 
hostile to the Medici, the city was besieged by an imperial army, and 
forced to surrender in 1530. A new constitution, published by the 
emperor two years afterwards, declared Alexander de Medici chief of 
the city, with the hereditary title of duke; but he did not long enjoy 
his new dignities, being assassinated in 1537 by one of his near rela- 
tives. He was succeeded by the morose and heartless Cosmo de Medici, 
the first grand-duke, who was very active in the administration of 
affairs, endeavouring to reform the public manners, especially those of 
the clergy, and to revive agriculture and commerce. He extended his 
protection to letters, re-est\blished the universities of Florence and 
Pisa, and founded the Academy in the former city. In 1562, his palace 
was the theatre of some tragical events. His second son, Giovanni, 
having been assassinated by the third son, Garcia, Cosmo stabbed the 
fratricide in the arms of his mother, who died of grief shortly after, .and 
the duke himself retired from public life, assigning the administration 
of the government to Francis, his heir. Cosmo died in 1574, and his 
successor, after a reign marked by assassinations and crimes of every 
kind, was poisoned, 1587, together with his paramour, who had become 
his wife, at a banquet given by his brother, the Cardinal Ferdinand. 
The latter ascended the throne, and endeavoured to raise the people from 
the degradation to which they had been subjected sixty years. Under 
this prince, agriculture and commerce flourished ; he extended his 
patronage to the fine arts, and rendered the court of Tuscany the best 
musical school in Europe. 

The Roman States. — Romagna was, during many years, the theatre 
of a contest excited by the ambition of Cassar Borgia. At this time the 
States of the Church were the worst administered and least peaceful ox* 



i 



SIXTEENTH CENTUEY A. D. 373 

all Italy, the territories immediately encircling Rome having passed 
entirely under the control of the Colonnas and the Orsini. The former 
being Ghibellines, the latter Guelfs, the nobility were divided between 
these two powerful families, whose quarrels often stained the streets of 
the capital with blood. Alexander VI., 1492, resolved to profit by these 
dissensions for the aggrandizement of his son, at the expense of the 
church patrimony. Caesar Borgia, with the aid of French troops, 
gradually reduced the petty lords of Romagna; and this prince, whom 
Louis XII. protected, extended his conquests by taking the isles of 
Piombino and Elba, with several towns on the mainland. 

Alexander VI., who died in 1503, was succeeded by Pius III., and 
the latter by Julius II., in the same year. The last-named pontiff, a 
thorough Italian in heart, entertained a like hatred to Spaniards, Ger- 
mans, and French, as having been in turn the conquerors and oppressors 
of his country. After the death of Caesar Borgia, he reduced part of 
Romagna, and prosecuted his design of expelling all foreign enemies 
from the Italian soil. 

Julius, dying at the very moment that his schemes appeared likely to 
be realized, was succeeded by John de Medici, as Leo X., who at first 
trod in the steps of his predecessors, but whose conciliatory character 
inclined to peace. He continued the magnificent basilic of St. Peter, 
which the other had begun ; and, in order to raise the necessary funds, 
had recourse to the sale of indulgences, — the proximate cause of the 
Reformation. Clement VII., 1523, also one of the Medici, and a patron 
of letters, but of an austere life, published a bull for the reformation of 
manners at Rome and throughout Italy. He was succeeded in 1534 by 
Alexander Farnese, who assumed the name of Paul III. It was by his 
intervention that Francis I. and Charles V. were induced to conclude 
the treaty of Nice in 1538; and the council of Trent, which was sum- 
moned at his suggestion, was by him transferred to Bologna. Paul IV., 
1555, was the first who drew up and published an Index expurgatorius, 
to prevent the dissemination of heretical doctrines; he also invested the 
Inquisition with more ample powers. Gregory XIII. aided the Vene- 
tians in their wars with the Turks ; and it was this pontiff who re- 
formed the Roman calendar, adopting the system of Louis Lilio, a Cala- 
brian astronomer, and commanding its immediate use.* He was 
distinguished for liberality, having expended in charitable and pious 
works not less than 200,000 crowns. Sixtus V., his successor, 1585, 
who was the son of a peasant in the March of Ancona, honoured the 
pontificate by the vigour of his character. He cleared the country of 
robbers, favoured agriculture, and encouraged manufactures. Under 
him Rome was greatly improved and extended ; he built magnificent 
aqueducts, worthy of the ancient capital of the world ; raised the Egyp- 
tian Obelisk before the church of St. Peter ; and completed its gorgeous 
cupola. He died in 1590. His decision, and the numerous public 
buildings which he constructed, conferred honour on his name ; but his 
extreme rigour caused his death to be hailed with joy by the Romans, 



*This method, which consisted simply in throwing out ten days from the common 
reckoning of time at that period, and introducing«proper regulations of the bissextiles, 
was ordered to take place in October 1582. It has been received by all the nations of 
Europe, except the Russians and Greeks. The new stvle was not adopted in Great 
Britain before 1752. 

32 



374 MODERN HISTORY. 

who overthrew the statues that had been raised to him in the Capitol. 
After him, Urban VII., Gregory XIV., and Innocent IX., successively 
reigned only a few months ; they were followed by Clement VIII. in 
1592, who reunited Ferrara to the Holy See, and expired, in 1605. 

Parma and Piacenza. — Pope Paul III., who passionately desired the 
aggrandizement of his family, had obtained, in 1545, the consent of the 
Sacred. College to confer on his illegitimate son, Peter Louis Farnese, 
the states of Parma and Piacenza, with the title of duke, feudatory to 
the holy see. But the new ruler was assassinated in 1547 by the 
nobles, to whom his debauchery, cruelty, and, above all, his various 
efforts to limit their privileges, had rendered him odious. Ferdinand de 
Gonzago, governor of Milan for the emperor, who had taken some 
share in this conspiracy, seized on the duchy in the name of his master. 
Octavius, the duke's son, claimed Parma, which the Pope had resumed, 
and applied, to Henry II. of France for assistance, by whose intervention 
it was recovered, in 1552, to which Piacenza was added by Philip II., 
in 1556. The long reign of this prince, of nearly forty years, contri- 
buted greatly to strengthen the ducal throne. He was succeeded by his 
son Alexander, who commanded the Spanish troops in Flanders, and 
died at Arras in 1592. His successor, Ranuzio L, exercised the most 
frightful tyranny. 

SPANISH PENINSULA. 

The death of their only son, and other family bereavements, induced 
Ferdinand and Isabella to centre all their hopes on the Princess Joanna 
and her posterity. In 1504, on the demise of Isabella, the infanta and 
her husband the archduke succeeded to the crown of Castile, their son 
Charles becoming prince of the Asturias : two years afterwards, Philip's 
reign was terminated by death. This event entirely unhinged the mind 
of his consort, and Ferdinand, her father, became regent of the kingdom. 
He expelled John d'Albret from the throne of Navarre, thus extending 
the limits of the Spanish monarchy to the Pyrenees, 1512. This prince, 
who has been reproached for his insatiable avarice and crafty policy, 
died in 1516, leaving the throne to Charles, afterwards Emperor of 
Germany. 

Ferdinand, of whom it was said by Philip II. that royalty in Spain was in- 
debted to him for every thing, rescued the country from feudal anarchy. Under 
various pretexts — by violence or judicial sentence — he deprived the nobles of 
the lands they had acquired from the prodigality or weakness of his predeces- 
sors, and diminished the power of the religious military orders. By these and 
similar innovations, he firmly established the royal authority ; but at the same 
time laid the foundation of a political and religious despotism, which attained 
its full development in the following reign. 

Charles I. was successively recognised king of Castile and Aragon, 
principally through the influence of his able minister, Cardinal Ximenes. 
The partiality of the monarch for his Flemish favourites had the effect 
of greatly alienating the affections of the Spanish people ; when, in the 
midst of the discontents thus occasioned, his grandfather Maximilian 
died, and he succeeded to the imperial crown by the title of Charles V., 
1519. His departure to Germany was immediately followed by a for- 
midable insurrection, in which even the clergy took part, one of the 
most active leaders being the Bishop of Zamora; it was, however, 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 375 

quelled after a short, but ill-concerted struggle. The history of Spain 
during this reign is henceforth almost inseparably connected with that 
of the empire. The incessant wars in which Charles was involved, 
compelled him to make frequent applications, particularly to his Spanish 
subjects, for the necessary funds. In 1539, the cortes being assembled 
at Toledo, he proposed to relieve the wants of his government by a 
general impost upon all kinds of merchandise. The violent opposition 
of the several orders, especially of the nobles and clergy, to the impo- 
sition of this tax, led to an important change in the constitution of the 
cortes. Finding it impossible to overcome their resistance, the emperor 
indignantly dissolved the assembly, remarking that those who did not 
contribute had no right to deliberate. Thenceforth, neither nobles nor 
prelates were summoned to take part in the discussion of any fiscal 
question, the states being composed merely of the representatives of 
cities, who, to the number of thirty-six, formed an assembly entirely 
subservient to the will of the court. 

Philip II. was called to the throne, in 1555, by the abdication of his 
father, and signalized the commencement of his reign by stringent 
measures for the extirpation of Lutheranism. The regulations of the 
Council of Trent were rendered imperative throughout the whole extent 
of the Spanish monarchy ; and, with the view of compelling the Moors 
to embrace Christianity, it was ordered, in 1568, that they should 
renounce their language, names, and all distinctive usages. This blind 
tyranny provoked a general insurrection, which was headed by Moham- 
med-Aben-Humeya, a descendant of the former sovereigns of Granada. 
Don John of Austria being sent against them, they were defeated in 
several engagements, and compelled to submit to conditions which 
involved their removal from their former residence, and their dispersion 
through the old Christian provinces, 1576. 

Revolutions in Portugal were preparing the way for the temporary 
union of that kingdom with Spain. The absolute government which 
had prevailed in the former country under John II. and Emanuel, 
increased greatly under John III. In the reign of this monarch, which 
lasted thirty-six years, the cortes were only three times convoked ; while 
the establishment of the Inquisition, and the introduction of the Jesuits, 
contributed greatly to the consolidation of despotism. The disastrous 
reign of Sebastian, grandson of John III., began in 1557, when the 
king was a minor three years of age. Educated in a manner well cal- 
culated to excite a naturally romantic character, and full of religious 
and knightly ardour, he, in 1578, undertook an expedition against the 
Moors in Africa, where he was defeated and slain. The Cardinal Henry 
now succeeded,* the only important event of whose short rule was the 
meeting of the estates at Lisbon to decide between the claims of the six 
pretenders to the throne on his decease, among whom was Philip II. of 
Spain. The priest-king, as Henry was called, died in 1580 ; and Philip, 
having gained over a part of the Portuguese nobles, ordered 30,000 men 
into Portugal, who, in three weeks, obtained possession of the country 

* Henry is seen to much greater advantage as a prelate than as a king. He reformed 
the too relaxed manners of the ecclesiastics, established schools and hospitals for the 
poor, protected letters, founded the university of Evora, and colleges at Coimbra and 
Lisbon. He employed the Jesuit MafFei in writing the history of the Portuguese in the 
Indies, encouraged the useful labours of many learned men, and himself composed 
several works. 



376 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Spanish arms were at this period in the height of their success 
in Flanders under Alexander Farnese. Seized with the emulation of 
subjugating France and England, and at the same time irritated by the 
assistance which the latter country had afforded to the Flemish revolt, 
Philip, in 1588, fitted out the famous armament known as the invincible 
armada, which was signally defeated. Spain now gradually became 
of less importance in the politics of Europe; her naval power and com- 
merce declined ; and the king, at his death in 1598, bequeathed a debt 
of 140 millions of ducats to a nation whose resources were already 
exhausted.* 

THE NETHERLANDS. 

Philip the Hardy, youngest son of John of France, having been 
created Duke of Burgundy in 1363, married Margaret, daughter and 
heiress of Louis III., last count of Flanders. With the hand of this 
princess, he obtained, in addition to the county now named, Artois, 
Franche-Comte, Nevers, Rethel, Mechlin, and Antwerp. The fortune 
of the family rapidly increased with the lapse of years, and the dukes 
of Burgundy were soon more powerful than several of the kings of 
Europe. On the death of Charles the Bold, Louis XL seized on the 
dukedom, while all the other provinces passed to the house of Austria 
by the marriage of Mary of Burgundy with the Archduke Maximilian, 
1477, whose grandson Charles V. increased his domains by the lord- 
ships of Utrecht and Overyssel, with the territory of Groningen. He 
then formed the plan of uniting the seventeen provincesf with Spain. 
Under this monarch the United Provinces greatly flourished ; but his 
son, Philip II., desirous of eradicating Protestantism, introduced the 
Inquisition, which ultimately drove the inhabitants into rebellion. 

In the Counts Eginont and Horn, and in William of Nassau, prince 
of Orange, the people had leaders worthy of their cause. Their repre- 
sentations to the sovereign having failed, they attacked the churches 
and monasteries, and after destroying the altars and images, violently 
introduced the Protestant form of worship. 

Philip, in 1567, sent the Duke of Alva into the Low Countries with 
an army of 20,000 men, at whose approach 100,000 Flemings abandoned 
their country, carrying their treasures and industry into France, Ger- 
many, and England. A tribunal of twelve judges established by Alva 
to examine into the excesses, and discover those who favoured Protes- 
tant doctrines, caused no fewer than 18,000 persons to perish by the 
hand of the executioner. The most illustrious of these victims were 
the Counts of Egmont and Horn, who suffered death at Brussels, June 
5, 1568. The news of this cruelty was the signal for a fresh revolt and 
civil commotion. The Prince of Orange, at the head of a large but 
undisciplined army of Germans, French, Italians, and Flemings, invaded 

* At his accession, Philip possessed, in Europe, the united kingdoms of Castile, Ara- 
gon, and Navarre, with Naples, Sicily, Milan, Franche-Comte, and the Netherlands; in 
Africa, Tunis, Oran, the Cape Verde and Canary Islands; in America, Peru, Mexico, 
New Spain, and Chili, besides Cuba, Hispaniola, &c. The mines of Mexico, Chili, and 
Potosi were alone a source of greater wealth than almost all the other princes of Europe 
together were possessed of. — Watson's P/ti/ip II , vol. i. p. 17. 

t These provinces were the duchies of Brabant, Limburg, Luxemburg, and Gueldres; 
the seven earldoms of Flanders, Hainault, Artois, Holland, Zealand, Namur, and Zut- 
phen ; the marquisate of Antwerp, and the five lordships of Mechlin, Friesland, Utrecht, 
Groningen, and Overryssel. 

/ 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 377 

Luxemburg. His first efforts being unsuccessful, he and his brother 
Louis were compelled to return to Germany. Though defeated on land, 
the prince and Count William deja Marck encouraged a maritime war 
against the Spaniards; and in 1572, a small body captured the town of 
Briel, an event which laid the foundation of the republic of the United 
Provinces. A revolution broke out in Zealand ; and all the cities, except 
Middleburg, opened their gates to the insurgents, an example followed 
by many towns in Holland. At Dort, William was declared stadt- 
holder, and the public exercise of the Reformed religion in the Calvin- 
istic form openly introduced. 

Alva was recalled and disgraced ; his successor, Louis de Requesens, 
and Don John of Austria, continued the war with varied success. The 
Spanish fleet having attempted to secure Middleburg, was defeated by 
the Prince of Orange; while Count Louis of Nassau and his brother 
Henry were killed at the battle of Mookerheide. One of the most 
remarkable events of the war was the siege of Leyden, 1574, which 
was defended by the Dutch with heroic resolution. The dikes of the 
Yssel and Maes were broken down ; the fields occupied by the besieging 
army inundated ; and the invaders were eventually forced to retire. In 
the following year, the states of Holland founded the university of Ley- 
den, which long held an elevated rank among the great seminaries of 
Europe. 

The Spanish soldiery now committed the greatest excesses, plunder- 
ing many cities, and ravaging the open country. In this extremity, a 
common danger united the Protestants and Catholics. The states-gene- 
ral, assembled at Brussels, proposed negotiating with the Prince of 
Orange and the confederates of Dort. Their overtures were favourably 
received ; and a treaty of general union was concluded, under the title 
of the " Pacification of Ghent," between the provinces of the north and 
south, guaranteeing mutual support against the Spaniards, and solemnly 
pledging the contracting parties not to lay down their arms until their 
enemies were finally expelled from the country, 1576. 

On the death of Requesens, Don John of Austria was appointed go- 
vernor. The confederates were now T masters of Antwerp, Bergen-op- 
Zoom, Breda, and other important places. With an army of 20,000 
men, the new governor was at first successful; but was eventually de- 
feated on the banks of the Diemar, and dying in 1578, was succeeded 
by the Prince of Parma, who, like his predecessors, failed to make any 
impression on the northern provinces. He was so far successful, how- 
ever, in sowing dissension between the states of the north and south, 
that the Prince of Orange, who had long regretted the insecure nature 
of the connexion subsisting between them, was led to form the design 
of isolating the northern provinces from the rest of the Low countries, 
and establishing a republic of which he should be the head. The act 
which realized this design was signed at Utrecht, January 25, 1579, 
between the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gueldres, and 
Groningen. Friesland and Overyssel acceded to it in June following; 
and several cities of Belgium, including Ghent, Antwerp, and Breda, 
joined it somewhat later. William of Orange was elected stadtholder, 
with all the attributes of royalty. 

While the Seven United Provinces braved with their own resources 
the power and vengeance of Spain, the ten others had elected the Duke 
32 * 



378 MODERN HISTORY. 

of Anjou, brother of Henry III., to the sovereignty of the Low Coun- 
tries ; but that prince, having foolishly attempted to tamper with the 
constitution of his new dominions, was driven back to France in 1584. 
In the same year, William was assassinated at Delft, at the instigation 
of Philip, by Balthasar Gerard ; and, in the absence of the prince's eld- 
est son, who was a prisoner in Spain, Maurice, his second son, was 
raised to his father's dignities, and notwithstanding his youth, became a 
formidable rival to the Duke of Parma. The loss of William, however, 
was a severe blow to the confederation ; the Spaniards recovered several 
cities, and reduced the states to such extremity, that they offered, as the 
price of succours, to resign the country either to England or France. 
Elizabeth afforded only a trifling assistance; but her aid, by involving 
Philip in those hostilities with England which led to the destruction of 
the armada, had an important though indirect influence on the welfare 
of the United Provinces. The scale was finally turned in their favour 
by the death of the Prince of Parma, in 1592; and the battle of Turn- 
hout, in which his successor was totally routed by the allied English 
and Dutch forces, 1597, may be regarded as the virtual conclusion of the 
contest. 

The result of the protracted struggle between the sovereign of so many states 
and the small republic of the Seven Provinces appears almost a miracle. Many 
circumstances, however, contributed to thwart the King of Spain and to favour 
the Dutch. They would have been inevitably crushed, if Philip II. had brought 
all his power to bear upon them ; but his ambition, which compelled him to 
divide his forces, was a protection to his enemies. That ruinous policy which 
kept traitors in every court of Europe in his pay, the support he gave to the 
League in France, the insurrection of the Moors of Granada, the conquest of 
Portugal, and the construction of the magnificent palace of the Escurial, dissi- 
pated treasures which seemed almost inexhaustible; while his armament against 
England swallowed up the entire revenues of both Indies, and proved the 
destruction of the veteran Spanish soldiery. 

The situation of the insurgents was different. They found auxiliaries in all 
those who, to escape the Duke of Alva, had quitted the southern provinces; 
in all whom the Huguenot wars had driven from France ; and in all whom 
religious intolerance had banished from other parts of Europe. The enthusiasm 
inspired by new doctrines, the desire of vengeance, and other motives, attracted 
to their standards the adventurers of all countries. Thus the Dutch army was 
complete without the necessity of withdrawing men from the cultivation of the 
fields, from commerce, or from their extensive fisheries, which, in 1604, con- 
tributed Wvti millions of florins to the revenue. At the epoch when the new 
country was struggling for existence, it extended its dominion beyond the seas, 
and laid the foundations of its power in the East Indies. — Schiller's Revolt of 
the Netherlands. 

GERMANY. 

The reign of Maximilian was an important one both to Germany and 
his hereditary dominions. He reformed the public law of the empire, 
and was the first to establish a standing army, with infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery, divided into regiments and companies. In 1501, he insti- 
tuted the Aulic Council, which gradually acquired extensive jurisdic- 
tion, in some respects superior to that of the Imperial Chamber. The 
diet of Treves, besides confirming the power of the council, completed 
the subdivision of the empire into circles, by adding four others to the 
six instituted in 1500. He also secured the reversion of Hungary and 
Bohemia to his posterity, by the double marriage of the Archduchess 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 379 

Mary, his granddaughter, with Louis, only son of Ladislaus, king of 
Bohemia and Hungary, and of Anne, sister of Louis, with his grandson, 
the Archduke Ferdinand. 

Charles V. — The death of the emperor, 1519, led to some of the 
most important events in modern history. Three candidates aspired to 
the imperial honours — Charles I. of Spain, Francis I. of France, and 
Henry VIII. of England ; the last, however, speedily withdrew. The 
electors, distrustful of the known ambition of Francis, and influenced, 
moreover, by the consideration that the dominions of Charles in Austria 
would render him the most likely defender of the empire against the 
Turks, then under the warlike Selim I., decided in favour of the Spanish 
monarch, who was solemnly inaugurated at Aix-la-Chapelle, by the 
title of Charles V., 1520. The dissatisfaction of Francis with this 
decision, conjoined with his claims on Italy, led to a series of disastrous 
wars between him and the Empire. The French monarch, having 
invaded and taken possession of Navarre, advanced into Spain, where 
he was defeated, compelled to evacuate his conquest, and driven back 
into his own country. At the same time, the Milanese, disgusted with 
the exactions and insolence of his troops, rose in arms, putting them- 
selves under Francis Sforza, brother of their late duke ; while Pope 
Leo X., the Emperor, and the King of England, formed a league for 
their assistance. The French forces were everywhere defeated, and 
forced to abandon nearly the whole of their possessions in Italy. Joy 
at these successes having proved fatal to the reigning pontiff, 1522, he 
was succeeded by Adrian VI., who, with the Florentines and other 
Italian states, joined in league against Francis, now left without an 
ally, 1523. The emperor and Henry VIII. invaded France on the north, 
south, and east ; but their forces were repelled ; and Francis, encouraged 
by this partial success, again essayed the recovery of the Milanese. In 
1525, entering Italy at the head of a large force, he was at first very 
successful, and finally sat down before Pavia, a town strongly garri- 
soned, and commanded by Leyva, an able officer. Every exertion was 
now made by the imperial generals to collect an army ; while the French, 
exhausted by fatigue and the rigour of the season, and weakened by a 
large detachment sent against Naples., remaine.d in their intrenchments. 
On the 2d February, they were attacked by the imperialists and totally 
routed ; and their king, after beholding the flower of his nobility perish 
by his side, was taken prisoner and carried in triumph to Madrid. The 
result of these signal reverses was a treaty by which Francis agreed to 
surrender Burgundy to the emperor, and delivered up his two sons as 
hostages for its performance, 1526. 

The English sovereign now became alarmed by the growing power 
of the empire ; the states of Burgundy protested against the surrender 
of their province ; and Pope Clement VII. absolved the king from the 
obligations of the treaty of Madrid. In these circumstances, an alli- 
ance, called the Holy League, was formed between France, England, 
the Swiss, Florentines, Milanese, and the Pope, to oblige Charles to 
give up the sons of the French monarch, and to restore the duchy of 
Milan, of which he still retained possession, to Sforza. Charles, the 
ruler of so vast an empire, possessed a very limited revenue ; and the 
wants of his exchequer opposed a greater obstacle to his ambition than 
trie coalition of all the princes of Europe. The forces of the empire 



380 MODERN HISTORY. 

were commanded by the Constable Bourbon, who had been arbitrarily 
deprived of his estates at home, and had joined the cause of the enemy. 
The confederates took the. held in Italy ; but not being: sufficiently rein- 
forced by Francis, the Constable overran the Milanese, and his troops 
beginning to mutiny for want of pay, he led them to Rome, then one 
of tbe richest cities in Europe. In the assault on the city, he himself 
was slain; but Rome was taken, and experienced from the troops of 
the Catholic monarch calamities surpassing those inflicted by the bar- 
barians of former times, 1527. On receiving the news of the captivity 
of the pope, Charles ordered prayers to be offered up in the churches 
for his deliverance, saying that his quarrel was with the temporal 
sovereign of Rome, but not the spiritual head of the church. The 
treaty of Cambray, 1529, restored peace between the rival monarchs; 
Francis abandoning his claims upon Italy and Flanders. In the same 
year, Charles and Pope Clement were also reconciled; and, in March 
1530, the Spanish king was crowned by the pope at Bologna as Empe- 
ror and King of Lombardy. 

In the mean time, the doctrines of the Reformation had made rapid 
progress in the empire. Martin Luther, a man of elevated mind and 
inflexible resolution, had boldly declaimed against the corruptions of 
the papacy, 1517; and the opinions he promulgated were readily em- 
braced by the thoughtful and speculative people of Germany. The 
policy of the northern princes strongly encouraged this natural direction 
of the minds of tfieir subjects, as the best guarantee against the almost 
irresistible power of Charles. From the year 1525, John the Constant, 
who had succeeded his brother Frederick the Wise in the electorate of 
.Saxony ; Philip, landgrave of Hesse ; George, marquis of Brandenburg; 
Ernest, duke of Luneburg; and Wolfgang, prince of Anhalt, with most 
rf the free cities of the empire, made a public profession of Lutheranism. 
Albert, margrave of Brandenburg, grandmaster of the Teutonic knights, 
desirous of sharing in the political advantages of the Reformation, 
renounced his vow of chastity, secularized the duchy of Prussia, which 
he placed under the protection of Poland, and thus laid the foundations 
of a monarchy which, two centuries later, became one of the most pow- 
erful in Christendom. Thoroughly alarmed at the progress of the new 
opinions, Charles, soon after his coronation, set out for Germany, where 
he immediately assembled the diet at Augsburg, June 1530. The Re- 
formers, w'ho had now received the name of Protestants, here solemnly 
presented to the emperor the first public confession of their faith, drawn 
up by Luther, and subscribed by the various princes who had embraced 
the reformed doctrines. Charles, whose disposition was not naturally 
intolerant, found himself compelled to adopt a temporizing policy 
towards this portion of his subjects. The Turks were now menacing 
Hungary; and satisfied that he could not refuse them the free exercise 
of their religion without a war of extermination, he referred the whole 
matter to a general council, which he urged the pope to convoke, but 
which did not meet until 1515. 

The emperor now began to despair of universal monarchy, and finding 
himself unable alone to support the burden of affairs, he associated his 
brother Ferdinand with him in the government, and conferred on him 
the title of king of the Romans, 1531. This prince, who administered 
the hereditary estates of Austria, had acquired by marriage the kingdom 



SIXTEENTH CENTUKY A. D. 381 

of Bohemia, and the sovereignty of Hungary had fallen to him on the 
death of Louis II. Thus already wielding three sceptres, and uniting 
under his authority all the south of Germany, he was one of the most 
powerful princes in Europe when he was nominated to the imperial 
succession. Charles having repelled a formidable inroad of the Turks 
in Hungary, 1532, returned to Spain, whence he sailed with a large 
army for Tunis, where Barbarossa, the dread of the Christians in the 
Mediterranean, had fortified himself, 1535. During his absence, the 
Anabaptists, a fanatical sect which had arisen in Germany amid the 
agitation of Reformed doctrines, seized on the city of Munster, and 
defended it courageously against the troops of the bishop ; they were, 
however, overcome, and their leaders executed with great cruelty. On 
the return of the emperor from Africa, where he had been completely 
successful, he was again compelled to take up arms against Francis, 
who once more revived his Italian claims, 1536. Having expelled the 
French from Italy, Charles invaded their territory, with the determina- 
tion of reducing it to a province of his empire ; but after fruitlessly 
investing Aries and Marseilles, and laying waste Provence, he was 
compelled to recross the Alps with the loss of half his army. Moham- 
med, the sultan's lieutenant, having at the same time invaded Hungary, 
while Barbarossa was ravaging the coasts of Southern Italy, he gladly 
accepted the mediation of Paul III., and a truce of ten years was con- 
cluded with Francis, 1538. 

The conquest of Algiers had long been a favourite object with Charles. 
Having suppressed a revolt in Ghent, his native place, he, in 1541, 
collected a large armament, with which he sailed for Africa, contrary to. 
the advice of his admiral, Andrew Doria. Having landed and com- 
menced operations against the city, a furious storm scattered his fleet 
and destroyed his soldiers, and he was forced to reimbark with the loss 
of the greater part of his force. Meanwhile, the murder at Milan of two 
French emissaries on their way to Constantinople, and the refusal of 
Charles to call the perpetrators to account, put an end to the truce be- 
tween him and Francis, 1542. The latter was allied with the kings of 
Denmark and Sweden, and had renewed a treaty he formerly made with 
the sultan. During two years, war raged in France, Spain, Italy, and 
the Low Countries; but the only important engagement took place at 
Cerrisoles, in which 10,000 imperialists were slain, and their opponents 
gained a signal victory, 1544. This was followed by a peace signed 
at Crespy, in which each party agreed to restore its conquests, unite 
against the Turks, and suppress reform in their respective dominions. 

The prime motive with Charles in the peace now mentioned was his 
desire to humble the Protestant princes. The diet of Worms, in 1545, 
passed various resolutions against them, in consequence of which they 
rose in arms under Frederick of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse. 
The emperor concluded a dishonourable peace with Soliman, formed an 
alliance with the Pope, who sent him 13,000 men under his illegitimate 
son, Alexander Farnese, and having collected an army, made a victori- 
ous march towards Upper Germany, levying contributions in the disaf- 
fected districts. In a decisive battle at Mulhausen, 1547, the confede- 
rates were completely defeated, and the two princes taken prisoners. 
The electorate of Saxony was conferred on Maurice, a kinsman of Fre- 
derick, who had treacherously aided the emperor against the confederacy 



382 MODERN HISTORY. 

of which he had at one time been a member. All opposition seemed 
now at an end ; his great rival Francis had recently expired ; and Charles, 
thinking himself secure in his designs on the liberties of Germany, and 
desirous of ending dictatorially the disputes on religion, presented a 
formula to the diet of Augsburg, 1548, drawn up by his own order, the 
articles of which were to serve as a rule of faith until the final decision 
of a general council. To this most of the Protestant states were com- 
pelled to submit. But such an order of things was not destined to con- 
tinue, for the Lutherans, though humbled, were not subdued ; the princes 
were fully alive to the ambitious designs of Charles; and even Maurice, 
of Saxony saw the necessity of opposing them. That prince, having 
been appointed general of an imperial army, retained the troops in his 
pay under various pretences ; formed a treaty with Henry II. of France ; 
and, secure of the adhesion of the Danish king and most of the northern 
potentates, at length threw off the mask. At the head of a force of 
20,000 foot and 2000 horse, he took the field, with the avow T ed purpose 
of defending the Protestant religion and maintaining the liberties of Ger- 
many ; and marched towards tbe south, everywhere restoring the Luthe- 
ran clergy and magistrates. At the same time the French invaded 
Lorraine, their monarch styling himself " Protector of the liberties of 
Germany and its captive princes." The emperor in vain sought to 
negotiate : Maurice advanced with all speed to Innsbruck, where he was 
then residing, and was so near surprising him, that he escaped with 
difficulty during the night. Augsburg had been taken, the Protestants 
laid siege to Frankfort on the Maine, and the haughty spirit of Charles 
was at length forced to submit. The treaty of Passau terminated the 
internal disputes of the empire, and placed the reformed religion on a 
secure basis, 1552. 

This was unquestionably the most disastrous period in the reign of 
that great ruler. The war continued with the Turks in Hungary on the 
one side, and the French on the other ; and on both the imperialists were 
almost uniformly unsuccessful. Italy was in commotion from north to 
south; Sienna openly revolted ; and the coast of Naples was ravaged by 
the Turkish fleet, 1555. Wearied with the cares of government, and 
hopeless of realizing his dreams of universal dominion, Charles at length 
determined on resigning all his dignities. For this purpose he sum- 
moned his son Philip to Brussels, where the latter was solemnly invest- 
ed with the government of the Low Countries, and a few weeks after 
with that of Spain and the Indies. In the following year, 1556, he gave 
up the imperial crown to his brother Ferdinand ; and, after astonishing 
the world by this abdication, retired to the convent of St. Just, in Estre 
madura, where, at the end of two years, he expired in the 69th year of 
his age. 

Consult, for particulars, Robertson's History of Charles V. 

The first exertions of Ferdinand I., on being invested with the su- 
preme authority, were directed towards the establishment of civil and 
religious concord. He opposed the pretensions of the pope, who claimed 
the right of conferring the imperial title, and vindicated the independence 
of the empire from the encroachments of the holy see, 1557. Having 
re-assembled the counci' of Trent, which had been broken up by the 
disturbances of the last iBign, an attempt at reconcilmtion between the 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 383 

Catholic and Protestant parties was made by the emperor ; but this prov- 
ing - ineffectual, this last of general councils was dissolved, 1563. Maxi- 
milian II. pursued with greater success the same course as his father, 
1564. The reformers had now begun to retaliate the Catholic persecu 
ions, and even to disagree among themselves ; but by his ability and 
moderation, he was enabled to hold the balance between the contending 
parties, and preserve the tranquillity of the empire. A Turkish invasion 
of Hungary was repelled, and a truce concluded with the sultan; while 
a convention with John Sigismund secured to him the crown of Hun- 
gary. Rudolph II. succeeded to the imperial crown in 1576, but fol- 
lowed a very different course. Abandoned to the direction of favourites, 
and naturally intolerant, he suppressed the Protestant worship in Aus- 
tria, and attempted to deprive the Hungarians and Bohemians of all their 
immunities. The country was everywhere embroiled in insurrections ; 
the Lutherans were led to form a confederation, and to ally themselves 
with Holland and Henry IV. of France; while the Catholics, on the 
other hand, united for mutual defence. The empire was saved from 
open war by the assassination of Henry IV., 1610, just as he was about 
to pour his troops into Germany ; and Rudolph himself died in 1612. 
In the midst of these troubles, however, science flourished ; and the cele- 
brated Rudolphine Tables, calculated by Kepler and Tycho Brahe, have 
rendered this reign an era in the annals of astronomy. 

HUNGARY AND BOHEMIA. 

Hungary first attained the rank of a kingdom in the eleventh century, the 
reigning prince, whose father, Duke Geysa, had previously embraced Christi- 
anity, assuming the title of Stephen I., 1000. Under succeeding monarchs, 
the country rose rapidly in importance ; its limits were extended ; and it long 
formed the chief barrier of Christendom against the Turks. The sovereignty 
was elective : in 1437, it had fallen to Albert, archduke of Austria, who 
perished in a campaign against the Turks, and was succeeded by his posthu- 
mous son, Ladislaus, 1440. Under this monarch and his successor, the king- 
dom was saved from destruction by the valiant regent, John Huniades, whose 
son, Matthias I., ascended the throne in 1458. The neighbouring country 
of Bohemia became known as a kingdom about the end of the twelfth century, 
though still remaining feudatory to the German emperors, from whom its kings 
received their investiture ; they, in turn, enjoying one of the seven electoral 
votes. The crown, like that of Hungary, was elective, passing, however, in 
ordinary cases, to the nearest heir. The power of the monarch was limited 
by the coronation oath, by a permanent senate, and by frequent convocations 
of the national diet, composed of the armed nobility. An important era in the 
history of Bohemia dates from the appearance of the celebrated John Huss, 
and his pupil, Jerome of Prague, the former of whom had translated the works 
of WicklifFe, and openly taught his doctrines to his countrymen, 1400. Both 
fell victims to the persecuting spirit of the age ; but their preaching and example 
had made a deep impression, and led the way to an important change in the 
national faith, preceded, however, by great internal disorders. 

On the death of Matthias I. of Hungary, in 1490, Ladislaus, kino- 
of Bohemia, was invested with the crown, thereby uniting the two 
countries. This able prince was succeeded by his son, Louis II., a 
child ten years of age, 1516, during whose long minority the country 
was torn by factions, and the national revenue wasted. In 1526, the 
Sultan invaded Hungary with an army of 300,000 men ; and, in the 
fatal battle of Mohacz, Louis perished with the flower of his nobility, 



384 3I0DEKN HISTORY. 

great part of his territory becoming a prey to the conqueror. Ferdi- 
nand I. of Austria, having married the sister of Louis, succeeded to the 
throne of Bohemia; but the Hungarians, refusing to acknowledge his 
claim, gave the crown to John Zapoli, palatine of Transylvania, and at 
his death to his son, John Sigismund. This led to a long and bloody 
war, which, as the Turks took part in it, lasted during the whole life 
of Ferdinand, — the result, in a great measure, of the unpopularity oi 
the house of Austria, whose religious intolerance and despotic habits 
were offensive to the Hungarian nobles. Maximilian II., 1563, sue 
ceeded his faiher in the dignities of Emperor and King of Hungary 
and Bohemia; not, however, without opposition from John Sigismund, 
who was aided by Soliman II. Rudolph, who ascended the throne ir 
1572, in order to get rid of the enormous expense of maintaining the 
strongholds of Croatia, gave them, as a fief of the empire, to Charles, 
duke of Styria, who partitioned the whole into a number of smaller 
fiefs, which he bestowed on foreigners of all nations, of whom he 
formed a military colony. This establishment, which gradually extended 
along the frontiers of Sclavonia and Croatia, effectually repelled the 
Turkish inroads, and supplied those redoubtable troops, who, under the 
names of Croats and Pandoors, became the strength of the Austrian 
armies. The bigoted spirit of this prince alienated the affections of his 
subjects, particularly of the Protestants, who rose in rebellion, and 
gave the thrones of both countries, during his lifetime, to his brother 
Matthias. 

POLAND AND RUSSIA. 

Poland. — The Poles, who belonged to the Sclavonian branch of the European 
family, were at first divided into several petty states, constantly at war with 
each other ; but the early history of the country is involved in much obscurity. 
In 965, the people were converted to Christianity, and united under the govern- 
ment of Duke Mieczeslaus, who became, however, a vassal of the empire; 
and his successor, Boleslaus, received the royal crown from the hands of the 
Emperor Otho III., 1000. During three hundred years the country presents 
the usual disorders incident to a rude and warlike people. Ladislaus II., 
1306, an able prince, exerted himself to compose the disturbances of the king- 
dom, and firmly established his authority. His son, Casimir the Great, 
followed in the steps of his father : he freed the nation from its dependence on 
the empire, invited the settlement of foreigners, built towns and fortresses, 
encouraged industry and commerce, and promulgated an excellent system of 
laws. At his death, 1370, the crown became elective with certain limitations, 
and was conferred on his nephew Louis, king of Hungary. This monarch 
secured the succession to his daughter, who ascended the throne in 1382, and 
married Jagellon, duke of Lithuania, that prince with his people agreeing to 
embrace the Christian faith. This important augmentation of national strength 
was followed by long and violent contests with the Teutonic Knights, who 
possessed Prussia and the neighbouring provinces ; these were not terminated 
till 1466, when, after immense bloodshed, the knights submitted to do homage.* 
The union with Lithuania did not prevent violent contentions and animosities 
between the two countries; they were afterwards repeatedly separated and 
again united, and their thorough incorporation was not effected till 1569. 

The kings of Poland were engaged in almost incessant wars with 
the Ottomans, as well as with the Tartars and Muscovites. In 1501, 



♦This order of military monks was founded in Asia during the Crusades, whence they 
removed to Germany on the relinquishment of all hopes of recovering Palestine. Here 
they subdued the pagan inhabitants of Prussia, and shortly after acquired Livonia and 
Esthonia, 12?a 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 385 

Alexander^ grandduke of Lithuania, was elected to the Polish crown, 
during whose government the royal power was much weakened by the 
encroachments of the nobles. His successor, Sigismund I., 1506, found 
the country in great disorder ; and his reign forms one uninterrupted 
series of successful exertions for its security and improvement. The 
same wise course of administration was followed by his son, Sigismund 
II., 1548-1572. During this interval the Reformed doctrines made 
great progress in Poland, especially among the higher classes ; and this 
country is distinguished as being the first to adopt a complete system 
of toleration. By an enactment of the diet, known as the Confederation 
of 1573, all sects were left at liberty to follow the dictates of conscience, 
and allowed equal rights and privileges.* The death of Sigismund II. 
terminated the main line of Jagellon, and the throne of Poland became 
open to the ambition of various competitors. Henry of Anjou was first 
chosen, but he clandestinely retired to France, to the crown of which he 
succeeded as Henry III. Battori, prince of Transylvania, was next 
elected, and proved an able and vigorous monarch : he was a terror to 
the enemies of his people, and greatly promoted their internal prosperity. 
Sigismund III., crown-prince of Sweden, 1587, reigned forty-five years. 
His bigoted attachment to the Papal church caused the loss of his here- 
ditary dominions, and gave rise to a rebellion in Poland, which was 
suppressed with difficulty. 

Russia. — Tn the ninth century, the vast territory now known by this name 
was peopled by various Scythian and Tartar tribes, and divided into numerous 
independent states, the two principal of which were Kiew and Novgorod. In 
850, a Scandinavian chief, named Rurik, became master of the latter country, 
and is considered the first of the Russian sovereigns. Under Vladimir the 
Great, 980-1015, the people embraced Christianity according to the forms of 
the Greek church, the arts of civilisation were introduced, and some degree of 
stability was given to the government. After his death, the country was 
partitioned among his sons, and became for nearly a century a prey to civil 
wars and Polish invasions. In 1223, the whole region was overrun by the 
Tartars, under a son of Genghis-khan; the towns were destroyed, and the 
inhabitants massacred ; and during the space of two hundred years, the Rus- 
sian princes became vassals of the conquerors. In 1462, Ivan III. restored the 
independence of his country, reunited the several divisions of the territory, and 
already aspired to the possession of the Byzantine throne. In this reign the 
influence of Russia first began to be recognised in the politics of Europe. 

Vasili IV., the successor of Ivan, 1505, continued to prosecute the 
schemes of aggrandisement formed by his father. His son, Ivan IV., 
1533, was the first Russian prince who assumed the title of Czar, and 
contributed more than any of his predecessors to the power of the 
government. In the early years of his reign, he repressed the incur- 
sions of the Tartars, instituted the Strelitzes, a regular body of infantry, 
and published a code of laws. The voluntary adhesion of the Don Cos- 
sacks secured to him the services of these warlike auxiliaries, 1549; 
while the conquest of Siberia, 1581, more than doubled the original ter- 
ritories of the empire. During this reign, the discovery of the passage 
to the White Sea by some English merchants, opened a commercial 
intercourse between Great Britain and Russia. The ferocious character 

* The Arians and Socinians were at this time numerous in Poland — the latter sect 
persecuted everywhere else, here found an asylum. Their chief establishment was at 
Racau. 

33 



386 MODERN HISTORY. 

of Ivan procured for him the surname of the Terrible and the execrations 
of his subjects, but was probably inseparable from the energy necessary 
for the government of a savage people. His successor, Theodore, 1584, 
proved an imbecile prince ; and the government was actually conducted 
by his minister, Boris, who succeeded him in 1598. Boris prosecuted 
the designs of Ivan: he signalized the commencement of his reign by 
raising the condition of the serfs, invited artists from foreign countries, 
promoted commerce, and improved the military defences of the empire. 

DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND NORWAY. 

Denmark and the Scandinavian peninsula were early occupied by the Goths, 
who subdued the original Finnish tribes. The ninth century is generally 
assumed as the beginning of the connected history of Denmark, when Gormon, 
by reducing the separate provinces, established his sovereignty over the whole 
territory, 863-900. His son, Harold II., introduced Christianity about a. d. 
970; and, at the beginning of the eleventh century, Swevne I., his grandson, 
subjugated a portion of Norway and the greater part of England. Canute the 
Great, 1016, possessed himself of the whole of England and part of Scotland, 
and in 1030 completed the conquest of Norway.* The reign of this warlike 
and enlightened prince was devoted not merely to his own aggrandisement but 
to the establishment of law and internal organisation, and to the general dif- 
fusion of Christianity throughout his dominions. Under his imbecile successors, 
the history of Denmark exhibits an almost uninterrupted series of disasters, 
terminating with the death of Sweyne III., 1157. The ascendency of the 
feudal system, introduced by Canute, had rendered the sovereign dependent 
upon the voice of the nobles and superior clergy, the peasants were degraded 
to the condition of serfs, agriculture could hardly be said to exist, and nearly 
the entire commerce of the country fell into the possession of the Hanse Towns. 
Valdemar III. began the restoration of his kingdom, 1333 ; and after a vigorous 
reign, was succeeded by Olaus III., a child five years of age, 1376. His mother, 
?vIakgaret, distinguished by the title of the Semiramis of the North, was 
appointed regent ; and in 1387, on the death of Olaus, she herself ascended the 
throne. Having acquired Norway by inheritance, and conquered Sweden by 
force of arms, the grand object of her ambition was attained by the Union of 
Calmar, which united the three northern kingdoms into one monarchy, 1397. 
By this means the great mercantile confederacy of the Hanse Towns was 
humbled ; but the Swedes, to whom the union had always been displeasing, 
after a long series of contests, renounced it in 1523. 

The proximate cause of Swedish independence is found in the tyranny 
of Christian II., surnamed the Wicked. Having vanquished the 
patriotic party by treachery and force, he was crowned at Stockholm ; 
. and, with the view of striking terror into the nation, he seized the oppor- 
tunity to perpetrate a public massacre of ninety-four nobles, 1521. 
Gustavus Vasa, son of one of the murdered chiefs, having escaped 
from the prison in which he had been immured, roused the miners of 
Dalecarlia to assume arms in defence of their native land. His first 
attempts proving successful, the whole people gradually rose against 
the tyrant ; the Danes were driven from the country, and Gustavus, by 

* The Norwegians were first known in Europe as pirates, frequently visiting and lay- 
ing waste the countries bordering on the North Sea. Their first regular king was 
Harold Haarfager, v/ho subdued and united the small principalities into which the 
country was divided. His reign was distinguished by the numerous migrations of his 
subjects: some settled on the distant shores of Iceland; others seized on the Scottish 
isles; Rollo, exiled in 896, established himself in France, 911. Norway was united with 
Denmark under Sweyne and Canute; but the countries were again separated till 1387, 
when they were conjoined under Margaret. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 387 

universal consent, ascended the throne, 1523. Christian, who was 
equally hated by his Danish subjects, was in the same year superseded 
in the crowns of Denmark and Norway by his uncle Frederick I., 
duke of Sleswick and Holstein. In 1528, the Swedish government 
introduced the Lutheran Reformation ; while the usurpations and vio- 
lence of the clergy during the ten years' interregnum which followed 
the death of Frederick I., and their attempts to set aside his son Chris- 
tian III., on account of his religious principles, led to the same event 
in Denmark in 1536. During the reign of Christian, a code of laws, 
entitled the Recess of Coldhig, was promulgated, Sleswick and Holstein 
were united to the Danish crown, and the improvement and stability of 
the country promoted. The harmony between Sweden and Denmark 
was disturbed by a furious war which continued seven years, 1563, and 
again in 1611 ; both of which tended to a more precise adjustment of the 
relations of the two rival monarchies. 

The long reign of Gustavus, an interval of tranquillity, allowed full 
time for the consolidation of Swedish independence. In 1560, he was 
succeeded by his son Erik, a fickle and violent prince, during whose 
time a war was prosecuted with Russia; the Livonian contest followed, 
1561 ; that with the Hanse Towns, 1562 ; and with Denmark, 1563, — 
which were almost uniformly unfortunate. The internal administration 
of Erik was stained with sanguinary cruelties, which eventually led to 
his deposition, his brother John, duke of Finland, who had married a 
daughter of Sigismund of Poland, being raised to the throne. After 
some successful operations, the new king concluded an advantageous 
peace with Denmark, 1570, the quarrel with Russia still continuing. In 
1592, Sweden was united to Poland in the person of his son Sigismund. 
The vehement efforts of this prince to change the established worship, 
led to a rebellion headed by his uncle Charles. He was finally deposed 
by a resolution of the states, on the ground that he had " broken the 
coronation oath, violated the constitution, disregarded the laws, and 
endangered the Protestant religion;" and Charles, endeared to the 
people by his services, and as the last surviving son of the great Gusta- 
vus, was immediately elevated to the throne, 1600. 

OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE EAST. 

A peace concluded with Venice in 1503, and which was observed 
until 1537, left the Ottoman empire in tranquillity with its neighbours 
during the remainder of the reign of Bajazet. But it was not equally 
free from internal disturbances : two younger sons of the sultan rebelled 
in their respective provinces, and were immediately strangled by their 
father's order ; of the remaining three, two were feeble and unwarlike, 
the third, Selim, after compelling Bajazet to abdicate, caused him to be 
poisoned, 1512. He commenced his reign by the murder of his brothers 
and nephews, and the massacre of 40,000 Sheeahs, or dissenters from 
orthodox Mohammedanism. Two of Achmets's sons, however, having 
escaped to Persia, Selim sent to demand them; and Shah Ismail, the 
founder of the Suphi dynasty in that country, refusing to give them up, 
he took up arms against him, and defeated the Persians near Tauris, 
but with a loss of 40,000 men. He acquired Koordistan and Mesopo- 
tamia either by force or negotiation, and declared war against the Mame- 
luke sultan of Egypt, as an ally of Ismail, whom he overthrew in a 



i388 MODEKN HISTORY. 

sanguinary engagement near Aleppo, 1516, — all Syria falling into the 
hands of the victor. Selim now entered Egypt, gained another battlo 
near Cairo, which city was taken, 50,000 of its inhabitants barbarously 
massacred, the brave sultan, Toomaun Beg, hanged at one of the gates 
of his capital, and the country reduced to a Turkish province. The last 
caliph of the house of Abbas having submitted, and dying on his way 
to Constantinople, the sultan assumed the sacred title, which has ever 
since been borne by his successors. 

Soliman I., the Magnificent, and the greatest of the Ottoman sove- 
reigns, succeeded his father in 1520. In the first year of his reign, pro- 
fiting by the troubles of the West, he captured Belgrade and other for- 
tresses from the Hungarians. Satisfied with having thus secured the 
key to Eastern Christendom, he next resolved upon the conquest of 
Rhodes, which had been upwards of two hundred years the chief station 
of the Knights of St. John, then commanded by the illustrious grand- 
master Villiers de l'lle Adam. In 1522, the vizier appeared oif the 
island with a fleet of 400 sail, containing an army of 200,000 men ; to 
oppose which ihere w r ere only GOO knights and 5000 soldiers. The 
place was defended with unexampled resolution, the Christian warriors 
performing prodigies of valour: Soliman himself arrived to encourage 
his troops ; but 80,000 Turks had perished by the sword and by disease, 
the fortifications were reduced to a heap of ruins, almost every one of 
the defenders had been wounded, and their ammunition and provisions 
were exhausted, ere the heroic grandmaster would condescend to capitu- 
late. The sultan granted honourable terms to the survivors, who evac- 
uated their stronghold on Christmas-day : they were afterwards settled 
in Malta by Charles V., 1530. Long p^ace being incompatible with 
the habits of the Turkish soldiers, who had already broken out, into 
several serious revolts, Soliman again invaded Hungary; the king of 
which lost a battle and his life on the plains of Mohacz, his capital was 
plundered, and the whole country overrun, 1526. Three years after, 
the sultan laid siege to Vienna, but was compelled to retire. A war 
with Persia next followed, by which Soliman gained possession of 
Bagdad. 

About this time the famous Khair Eddin Barbarossa entered the ser- 
vice of the sultan. His brother, originally a pirate, had by force and 
eachery attained the sovereignty of Algiers, whence he swept the coasts 
of the Mediterranean with his galleys, and carried the terror of his name 
even into the centre of Africa. On his death in 1518, the Turks in that 
province immediately proclaimed Khair Eddin, who has been called 
Barbarossa II. He placed himself under the protection of the grand 
seignior, repelled the attacks of the Christians, captured Tunis, and was 
appointed to the command of the fleet, 1530, — a dignity which he held 
till his death, 1546. Tunis was however again wrested from him by 
Charles V., who restored it to the former sovereign, Muley Hassan. 
The Turkish arms were victorious on all hands, and the friendship of 
Soliman was even courted by Francis I., who formed with him the first 
alliance between the Porte and any Christian power, 1536. Repeated 
wars with Austria and Hungary- followed, greatly to the advantage of 
Soliman, who eventually succeeded in making Transylvania a province 
of his empire, 1552. A renewed invasion of Persia, in which Erivan 
was taken, led to a peace with the shah in 1554, which became the 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 389 

basis of all subsequent treaties between the rival powers. The great 
naval victory at Djerbeh, on the coast of Africa, over the combined 
Christian fleets, 1560, secured the Turkish ascendency in the Mediter- 
ranean; while a truce with the empire confirmed their Hungarian con 
quests, 1562. 

These brilliant martial triumphs were, however, imbittered by do- 
mestic dissensions. Soliman's eldest son, Mustapha, had been put to- 
death in 1553 by the intrigues of his stepmother Roxalana, who wished 
to secure the succession for one of her own children ; the jealousies of 
the two surviving princes, Selim and Bajazet, ended in the revolt of the 
latter, who was defeated and executed, 1561. An unsuccessful expe- 
dition against Malta, 1565, was followed next year by a campaign in 
Hungary, in which he headed his armies in person for the last time. 
He expired before the walls of Zigeth, the day before the capture of the 
place, at the age of seventy-two, and was succeeded by his only sur- 
viving son, Selim II., 1566. 

The empire now began to decline rapidly, the conquest of Cyprus 
being more than neutralized by the destruction of the Turkish fleet at 
Lepanto, 1571. Under Amurath III., 1574, the turbulent janissaries 
revolted ten times ; and on one occasion set fire to Constantinople, 
when 15,000 houses were destroyed, with the loss of 50,000,000 gold 
crowns. 

Persia. — During this century a dynasty was formed in Persia on the 
basis of religion. Sheikh Eidar, a descendant of Ali, having gained a 
number of adherents by a reputation for sanctity and the austerity of his 
life, assumed the title of Sophi, and declared himself commissioned by 
Heaven to work a religious reformation. He perished, however, in the 
attempt; but his son Ismail, protected by his disciples, was removed to 
the province of Chilan, and strictly educated in his principles. In 1501, 
at the head of a numerous body of partisans, he revived the claims of 
his father, whose doctrines he propagated ; and, gradually overcoming 
all opposition, he at length became <the founder of an extensive empire, 
comprehending Persia Proper, Media, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Armenia 
Ulterior. In 1514, in the war with Selim, his capital, Tauris, was 
taken and plundered, though with immense loss on the part of the 
Turks, who were obliged to retreat for want of supplies. He afterwards 
subdued Georgia, and was succeeded by his son Tamasp, 1523 ; and 
though, during his reign, the Turks several times invaded Persia, they 
were unable to maintain their conquests. The succession was disputed 
by his sons, the eldest of whom was proclaimed by the title of Moham- 
med Mirza, 1576. This prince was deposed by the Sultan of Khoras- 
san, who placed Mirza's youngest son, Abbas, on the throne, 1585, by 
far the most illustrious of the Sophi dynasty. He recovered from the 
Turks and Tartars several provinces they had taken from his father, 
recaptured from the Portuguese the island and town of Ormuz, destroyed 
the janissaries, and legislated wisely for his people. He gave way, 
however, to the natural cruelty of his character, causing his eldest son 
to be murdered, and depriving both the others of sight, on suspicion of 
their designs upon the throne. During this reign Isphahan became the 
capital of Persia, where the shah erected the royal palace, the great 
mosque, and othei celebrated buildings. A quarter of the city was set 
33* 



390 MODERN HISTORY. 

apart for the Armenians, and the resort of Christians encouraged. He 
died in 1628. 

India. — The early history of this fertile and extensive country, which seems 
to have been among the first inhabited parts of the globe, is necessarily involved 
in great obscurity. The invariable traditions of the Hindoos point to the 
northern provinces of the peninsula as the primeval residence of their race, and 
of the Brahminical faith; and powerful empires existed in Hindostan many 
centuries anterior to the Chris; ian era. 

About a. D. 1000, the celebrated Sultan Mohammed, a Tartar sovereign of 
(ihizni, turned his arms against Lahore, the key of Northern Hindostan. 
Twelve times he penetrated into the very centre of the peninsula, overthrow- 
ing the temples of Brahma, and by his murderous ravages changing fertile 
countries and populous cities into dreary solitudes. At his death in 1030, his 
kingdom extended from the Caspian Sea to the mouth of the Indus, and from 
the Tigris to the Ganges. His successors, despoiled by the'Seljukian Turks 
of nearly all the provinces they possessed beyond the Indus, still preserved the 
empire founded by Mohammed westward of that river until the year 1182, at 
which epoch the Ghorian dynasty was founded, and reigned at Delhi till the 
end of the thirteenth century. Subsequent monarchs extended their dominion 
over the Punjaub, Bengal, and Malwa, and contributed to the greater civilisa- 
tion of their subjects by a generous patronage of literature. In later years, the 
Mongols made frequent irruptions into India ;• and on two occasions placed the 
capital in imminent danger. The invasion of Tamerlane inflicted a terrible 
blow on the empire of Delhi ; but it gradually revived, without however being 
able to regain its ancient frontiers. Mussulman and Hindoo princes, while 
owning a nominal subjection to the emperor, founded independent states in 
Oude, Bengal, Malwa, and Gujerat. The Decan also formed a kingdom, 
which remained long divided between the Mohammedans and Hindoos. 

The utmost confusion continued to prevail throughout India, till at 
length Baber, a descendant of Tamerlane, became master of Delhi, and 
put an end to the Afghan dynasty, 1525. He was the founder of the 
Tartar or Mogul power, and his dominion extended from the Indus to 
the Ganges. In 1556, the celebrated Akbar ascended the throne, and 
firmly established the Mogul empire. This prince was honourably dis- 
tinguished by his toleration and love of justice ; under his reign the 
Hindoos enjoved greater prosperity'than they had experienced since the 
Mohammedan invasion ; and the memory of his virtues is even yet 
cherished by all classes of the people. He divided his empire into 
mubahs or provinces, and caused the land to be regularly assessed. 
Towards the end of his life, he appears to have favoured the religious 
opinions of the Hindoos and Parsees; he encouraged literature, and by 
his order the Vedas were translated from Sanscrit into Persian. He 
• lied in 1605. During this reign the Europeans first obtained a footing 
in India. 

China. — The annals of this vast country extend over a period of upwards of 
4000 years, from an era coeval with the rise of the Egyptian and Assyrian 
monarchies, and exhibit an empire ascending from the rudiments of the social 
sia*e to a high pitch of civilisation and refinement. 

What mav be called the modern history of China begins with the great 
dynasty of Han, which existed about four centuries and a half. It was over- 
thrown a. d. 26f> ; and. amid the disturbances that ensued, arose. those epheme- 
ral races which have been designated by the Chinese historians as the six petty 
dynasties, 265-608. During this period, the empire, desolated and enfeebled 
by civil wars and revolutions, lost the ascendency which it had formerly main- 
tained over great part of Asia. These troubles were at length terminated by 
the elevation 3 of the royal house of Tang, 618-907, under whom the nation 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 391 

attained a high degree of power and opulence. The most illustrious prince of 
this family was Tai-tsong, in whose reign the frontiers, or at least the^pfluence 
of China, were extended far into Western Asia, and even to Persia; the 
sovereign of the latter country having solicited the aid of his soldiers to repel 
the Mohammedan Arabs. The Tang was followed by no fewer than five suc- 
cessive lines of monarchs, which lasted only fifty-three years, under whom the 
empire was again split among a number of independent chiefs. In 960, the 
Song dynasty was founded, and lasted 319 years, presenting during that long 
period a succession of able and virtuous monarchs. The last sovereign of the 
race, however, was compelled to become tributary to the Tartars ; and, in 
1279, China fell under the Mongol yoke. Kublai-Khan, a grandson of Genghis, 
was the founder of this new line of monarchs, and extended his authority from 
the Frozen Ocean to the Straits of Malacca. He possessed also Pegu, Thibet, 
Tartary, and Turkestan: Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, and Corea paid him 
tribute ; and he was regarded by the other chiefs of the family as the head of 
their race. Several of the princes after Kublai seem to have been able and 
even enlightened rulers ; but under their degenerate successors the ruin of the 
dynasty was consummated. The Chinese took advantage of the dissensions 
of their conquerors, and about the middle of the fourteenth century revolts 
everywhere broke out. The last Mongol emperor retired in 1368 into Tar- 
tary, abandoning his throne to the founder of the glorious dynasty of Ming, 
1368-1644. The new sovereign immediately attacked the princes of the fugitive 
race, when Thibet and other Tartar dependencies were subdued by his arms. 

COLONIES AND DISCOVERIES. 

The fifteenth century had closed with the discovery of a new world 
and a new route to India. Between 1508 and 1510, the Spaniards set- 
tled in Hayti, Cuba, and Jamaica; but the revenue they drew from the 
West Indies was at first inconsiderable. 

Mexico. — In 1517, Mexico was discovered by Francisco Cordova; 
and, two years later, the celebrated Hernan Cortez landed with an arma- 
ment for the conquest and settlement of the country. The invaders found 
the empire at this period governed by Montezuma, a powerful prince, 
whose subjects were considerably advanced in civilisation and in the 
knowledge of the mechanical arts. t The cruelties that disgraced the 
conquest of Mexico can scarcely be imagined. A great number of the 
people were branded in the forehead and sent to work in the mines; and 
the successor of the vanquished monarch was burnt to death over a slow 
fire by the orders of Cortez. The Spaniards, however, derived immense 
riches from this acquisition. 

Pf.ru. — This country was invaded by Francis Pizarro, once a shep- 
herd of Estremadura, in 1526. Intestine dissensions facilitated his suc- 
cess; and, after putting the sovereign to a violent death, the principal 
provinces were divided among the conquerors. Peru, at the epoch of 
its discovery, was under the theocratic government of the Incas or " chil- 
dren of the sun," the object of religious worship. The great mass of 
.he people were enslaved ; and, although they had constructed roads and 
built cities, they were but little advanced in the arts ; for they had no 
iron, no coined money, nor any beast of burden except, the llama. 

Brazil was approached by the Portuguese in the last year of the fif- 
teenth century, but was not settled till about 1530. Its history was not 
remarkable until it passed into the hands of the Spaniards in 1580; and 
the revolution which placed the family of Braganza on the throne, ter- 
minated their dominion in 1640. 



392 MODERN HISTORY. 

North America. — The English, before 1588, had advanced little 
farther t^vards their maritime and colonial dominion than by making- 
repeated attacks, not avowed by government, on the rich home-bound 
cargoes of Spain. Between 1576 and 1610, vain attempts were made 
by Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, and others, to discover a northeast or a 
northwest passage to India. The unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh founded 
a colony in Southern Virginia, 1584: but the affairs of North America 
remained in the hands of a company until the reign of James I. France 
made a few unsuccessful attempts at colonisation, important chiefly for 
their consequences. Cartier, a mariner of St. Malo, took possession of 
the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1534. 

[DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA. 

[The honour of discovering the continent of North America belongs 
to John Cabot, a Venetian merchant resident at Bristol, and his son, 
Sebastian Cabot, a native of the latter place. The brilliant success of 
Columbus had awakened a zeal for discovery throughout Europe. Under 
the influence of this feeling, Henry VII. of England, in 1495, readily 
granted to Cabot and his sons a commission to make a voyage of dis- 
covery, and to take possession of the regions discovered in the name of 
the king of England. Their first voyage commenced in 1496. Its object 
was to find a northwest passage to China, and it resulted in the disco- 
very of the north coast of Labrador, in June 1497. The fame of this 
expedition led to the immediate fitting out of a second for commercial 
purposes by the merchants of Bristol, in which the king himself became 
an interested partner. This second expedition, which was under the 
command of Sebastian, sailed early in 1498, and after reaching New- 
foundland, proceeded in a southerly direction along the coast as far as 
Albemarle Sound. Sebastian Cabot, afterwards known in England as 
the Great Seaman, lived to an extreme old age, and was much distin- 
guished for his naval skill and enterprise. 

[Florida was discovered in 1512 by Ponce de Leon, a gallant soldier, 
and one of the companions of Columbus. This noble-minded Spaniard 
attempted in 1521 to settle the country which he had discovered; but 
his little colony was expelled by the natives, and he himself died of a 
wound received from one of their poisoned arrows. 

[The French were the first to derive any commercial advantage from 
the discoveries of the Cabots. As early as 1504, the hardy mariners of 
Brittany and Normandy were found engaged in the fisheries oif New- 
foundland. In 1524, Francis I. employed John Verrazzani, an adven- 
turous Florentine, to explore the new regions. Sailing westerly from 
the coast of Spain, in a single small vessel, Verrazzani reached the coast 
of North Carolina, near where Wilmington now is, a portion of the con- 
tinent never before seen by any European. From this point he sailed 
north along the coast as far as latitude 50, trafficking with the natives 
and exploring the regions, particularly the New Jersey shore, New York 
harbour, New Port, New England, and Nova Scotia. 

[In the following year, 1525, Stephen Gomez, a Spanish navigator, 
sailed northward along- the coast of North America for the purpose of 
discovering a northwest passage to China, which Cabot had attempted. 
Hence New England and the Middle States are marked in old Spanish 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 393 

maps as the land of Gomez. The expedition of Gomez, however, was 
without any practical result. 

[The continued success of the French fishermen led Francis I. in 
1534, to fit out another exploring expedition for the New World, under 
the command of James Cartier, a mariner of St. Malo in France. Car- 
tier, in this voyage, sailed around Newfoundland, entered the bays of 
Chaleurs and Gaspe, and explored the bay and river of St. Lawrence. 
In the following year, 1535, Cartier led a second expedition, whose 
object was to colonize the newly-discovered regions. He followed the 
same route as in the previous year, sailed some distance up the St. 
Lawrence, gave name to Montreal, learned from the natives something 
of Vermont and New York, and having wintered in the country, returned 
in the spring to France, leaving no settlement behind him. A third but 
unsuccessful attempt was made by Cartier in 1541, in conjunction with 
Roberval, a nobleman of Picardy. Some other attempts to settle Ca- 
nada were made by the French during the present century, but without 
success. 

[Ferdinand de Soto, a companion of Pizarro in the conquest of Mexico, 
became dazzled with the accounts which he had received of the wealth 
and magnificence of Florida. Accordingly, under the auspices of Charles 
V., he set on foot an expedition similar in its design to those conducted 
by Cortez in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru. De Soto reached the bay of 
Spiritu Santo in Florida in 1539 ; and dismissing his ships, commenced 
his march into the interior. His followers, six hundred in number, were 
mostly men of wealth and distinction ; some of them were nobles, and 
the very flower of Spanish chivalry. De Soto continued for three years 
to traverse in various directions the States bordering on the Gulf of 
Mexico; and after encountering almost incredible hardships, he died on 
the banks of the Mississippi in 1542, and lies beneath the river which 
he discovered. He crossed a continent in search of gold, and found 
nothing so remarkable as his burial-place. His followers attempted to 
penetrate the country westward to Mexico; but failing in this, returned 
to the Mississippi, and passed downward through its mouth into the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

[In 1562, a colony of French Huguenots, under command of John 
Ribault, made several discoveries along the coast of Florida and the 
Carolinas, and effected a settlement. The infant colony struggled on 
with various success for three years, when it was exterminated by a 
general massacre, conducted with remorseless cruelty by Melendez and 
a body of Spaniards from St. Augustine. 

[To the bigoted Melendez belongs the honour of establishing the first 
permanent settlement in the United States. The foundations of St. Au- 
gustine were laid by him in September 1565; and houses in it are yet 
standing, which are said to have been built many years before the colo- 
nization of Virginia. 

[English mariners appear very early to have been attracted to the 
fisheries off Newfoundland. No formal expedition however was made 
into these regions after the time of the Cabots until 1576, when Martin 
Frobisher renewed the design of accomplishing a northwest passage to 
China. In three successive voyages, undertaken by the authority and 
partly at the expense of queen Elizabeth, and for the double purpose of 
colonization and discovery, Frobisher made no settlement, and penetrated 



394 MODERN HISTORY. 

Hudson's Straits only to see regions visited by Cabot seventy years 
before. 

[Sir Francis Drake, an English navigator, who had acquired great 
notoriety and immense treasures, as a freebooter in the Spanish harbours 
on the Pacific, sailed in 1579 northward along the coast of California as 
far as the 43d degree of latitude, or about one degree north of the south- 
ern boundary of the Oregon territory. This whole coast however had 
been previously explored by an expedition of Spaniards in 1542, who 
traced the continent as far as the 44th degree of latitude, or within about 
two and a half degrees of the mouth of the Columbia river. 

[In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a member of the English parliament, 
and step-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, under a liberal charter from 
queen Elizabeth, made a vigorous but unsuccessful attempt to establish 
a colony on the coast of the United States. Gilbert himself and a large 
part of the colonists perished on the voyage. 

[Nothing daunted by the melancholy fate of his step-brother, Raleigh 
in 1584 obtained a new patent from Elizabeth, and sent out another 
expedition, consisting of two ships well laden with men and provisions. 
The colonists visited the islands in Ocracock inlet, explored Pamlico 
and Albemarle Sounds, and trafficked with the natives ; but wanting the 
courage to make a settlement, they returned to England, where they 
gave a glowing account of the regions, which in honour of the Virgin 
Queen were named Virginia. 

[Raleigh, however, pursued his plan for colonizing the New World, 
and in 1585 set on foot a second expedition, composed of seven vessels, 
and carrying out 108 colonists. Among these were Lane, Grenville, 
Cavendish and Hariot, all men of distinction. Lane, the governor of 
the colony, proved to be not equal to his station. After remaining on 
the island of Roanoke little more than a year, and making a few incon- 
siderable excursions into the interior, he returned with his whole colony 
to England in the fleet of Sir Francis Drake, which had stopped to visit 
the colonists on a homeward voyage from the West Indies. 

[Raleigh was not dismayed by ill success. In 1587 he sent out at 
his own expense a third company of emigrants, with their wives and 
children, 108 in all. The poor colonists of Roanoke were however for- 
gotten in the panic of the Invincible Armada; and when, after its signal 
discomfiture, vessels were sent to inquire after and supply their wants, 
no traces of them could be found. Whether they perished of hunger, or 
were massacred by the savages, is a matter of conjecture. 

[Thus ended for the present all attempts to settle this country. North 
America, at the end of the sixteenth century, had many English graves 
but no English towns. Raleigh himself, the illustrious author of colo- 
nization in the United States, after expending more than fifty thousand 
pounds upon his favourite project, lived to see it apparently entirely 
abandoned; and he was himself reduced to beggary by the English 
government, and finally beheaded by order of James I.] 

Colonial System. — The conquered kingdoms of America became colonies 
of Spain, under a constitution framed by Charles V., 1542. All the external 
apparatus of Christianity was carried across the Atlantic; there were arch- 
bishops, bishops, vicars, and monks, dependent entirely on the king ; nor was the 
Inquisition forgotten, 1570. The political affairs were managed by the Council 
of the Indies in Spain, and in America by two viceroys, aided by boards and 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 395 

municipalities. By this imitation of European forms, the national spirit of the 
natives was extinguished. The trade was rendered a complete monopoly. 
Vera Cruz, Portobello, and Carthagena, in America; Seville, and afterwards 
Cadiz, in Europe, were the only ports which were allowed to be used by 
colonial ships. Little advantage was derived from these extensive acquisitions 
beyond the supply of precious metals, the mining operation connected with 
which gave rise to the African slave-trade, the aboriginal population being 
found unable to undergo the exhausting labour demanded by their taskmasters. 

During the sixteenth century, the Portuguese dominion, strengthened by the 
genius of its governors, Almeida and Albuquerque, extended in the East from 
the African coast to the peninsula of Malacca and the Spice Islands. Every- 
where they established factories or marts; but although their commerce wa9 
not restricted to a company, as in England and Holland, it could not be carried 
on without permission of the government. A connexion was formed with 
China, 1517 ; and Xavier, the apostle of the Indians, was the means of establish- 
ing a regular communication with Japan. In Brazil also, the Portuguese pos- 
sessions were widely extended ; and the sugar-cane, transplanted from Madeira, 
was largely cultivated. A dispute between this nation and Spain about the 
possession of the Moluccas, was the cause of the voyage of Magellan, whose 
fleet first circumnavigated the globe, 1520. 

The ruin of' the Portuguese dominion in the East was accelerated by the 
decline of morality among the higher class of colonists, and more especially by 
their avarice. The tyranny of the Inquisition at Goa has never been equalled. 
Spain, between 1560 and 1620, considerably augmented her commerce and 
maritime power by acquiring the East Indian colonies of Portugal and the pos- 
session of the Philippines. England and Holland entered into rivalry with her ; 
and the latter, while combating for the liberty of Etirope, became mistress of 
the commerce of the world. The first charter of the Dutch East India Com- 
pany was granted in 1602, making it a political as well as a mercantile body, 
governed by a board of directors at home and a governor-general in India. 
Establishments were made at Amboyna, Ternate, and other places, 1607 ; an 
intercourse was opened with Japan, 1611 ; and Batavia was founded in 1619. 

England in the reign of Elizabeth extended her views to all parts of the 
world. After having penetrated into Persia and even to India by the Caspian 
Sea, she founded her great agricultural colonies in North America. The prin- 
cipal branches of foreign, commerce were conferred on chartered companies; 
that of the East Indies was organized in 1600, but its traffic was long very 
inconsiderable.* 

THE CHURCH. 

The Reformation. — Many circumstances, widely separated in respect of 
time, seem to have contributed to the great ecclesiastical revolution which 
distinguished this century. The introduction of image worship had been 
strenuously resisted ; and many of the principles of Protestantism can be re- 
cognised so far back as the end of the eleventh century. The Waldenses or 
Vaudois had ever maintained a strong opposition to the grosser corruptions of 
Rome ; but the isolated position which long ensured them an immunity from 
persecution was ill suited for the birthplace of wide religious changes. In 990, 
Gerbert declared the Pope to be antichrist ; and Berenger of Tours, in the next 
age, attacked the great doctrine of transubstanfiation. In the Greek church, 
the liturgy was read in the vernacular tongue of each country which received 
its tenets, and the communion dispensed to the laity in both kinds. Wickliffe, 
in 1360, had preached against the corruptions of Rome; and his opinions, 
spreading over the Continent, were eagerly embraced by Hups and Jerome of 
Prague. Interior causes of decay were also undermining the colossal fabric of 
popery. The tiara had been contested by two or three pontiffs at a time ; and 
the attachment of the secular clergy to the court of Rome was weakened by 
its partiality for the mendicant orders, its usurpation of the rights of ecclesias- 

* For the substance of this and the subsequent sketches of colonial history, the reader 
is referred to Heeren's work on that subject. 



396 MODERN HISTORY. 

tical patronage, and its oppressive pecuniary exactions. The temporalities of 
the papacy brought forward base and unworthv men, eager to gratify an in- 
triguing ambition ; and in the latter part of the fifteenth century, the triple 
crown was dishonoured by the extreme profligacy of the popes, especially of 
the notorious Alexander VI. The necessity of a reformation, in discipline at 
least, was generally felt even by those best disposed to the church of Rome ; 
while the spirit of inquiry awakened by the invention of printing was ominous 
of more important doctrinal changes. 

Luther. — The immediate cause of the Reformation was the gross 
abuse of indulgences. Mitigations of the penalties of the church had 
been introduced as early as the third century, but they were not employed 
as an engine of power until the time of the Crusades. The indulgences 
then granted to the opposers of the infidels were afterwards extended to 
those who aided in the suppression of heresy : they were also transformed 
into remissions of the pains of purgatory. Leo X., who had been elected 
in 1513, discovered that his finances were inadequate to his great expen- 
diture, and to complete the magnificent church of St. Peter. Accord- 
ingly, in 1517, a sale of indulgences was proclaimed, as the most effec- 
tual means of replenishing his exhausted treasury, their disposal being 
intrusted to the monks of the order of St. Dominic. By these, absolution 
was given for future sins, as well as for the past; and they were con- 
verted into licenses for violating the most sacred moral obligations. This 
daring infringement of the law of God roused the indignation of Luther, 
and he resolutely determined to oppose it. As confessor, he had enjoined 
penance for some atrocious crimes, and refused to accord absolution until 
his directions were complied with, although the party had pleaded a 
remission in the form of a plenary indulgence. His firmness was threat- 
ened with the terrors of the Inquisition and the stake ; but he determined 
to appeal to the reason of his countrymen, and, on the 31st October 1517, 
he began the Reformation by submitting ninety-five propositions to be 
discussed before the universit)^ of Wittenberg, in which he was professor 
of divinity. Adopting the opinions of St. Augustine on predestination 
and grace, and denying the efficacy of indulgences and the intercession 
of the saints, he proceeded to contest the doctrines of auricular confes- 
sion, purgatory, celibacy of the priesthood, transubstantiation, and, 
finally, the supreme authority of the pope. Erasmus, who ridiculed the 
monastic orders, and even the court of Rome itself, by his writings ma- 
terially assisted the efforts of Luther. His translation of the New Tes- 
tament appeared in 1516; but he was too timid to enter into the views 
of his great contemporary, hoping that the advancing reform in literature 
would gradually effect a corresponding change in religion. 

Leo X. was little qualified to combat the energy of Luthrr; and he 
did not proceed to condemn the new tenets until the year 1520, yielding 
at length to the importunity of his ministers. Charles V., having need 
of the Pope's services, declared against the reformer, who, with his 
followers, was proscribed by the edict of Worms, 1521. He was not, 
however, dismayed : in the castle of Wartenburg, to which he had been 
conveyed, he continued to write in defence of his principles ; and, in 
1522, executed a German translation of the New Testament. The new 
doctrines spread rapidly through all parts of the empire, particularly 
Hesse and Saxony. A diet was held at Spires in 1529, where, as the 
Lutherans protested against the decree that would have crushed the new 
opinions, they acquired their name of Protestants. The diet of Augs- 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 397 

burg, in 1530, which elicited a confession of their faith, proved that all 
hope of reconciling the two parties was futile. In 1532, the emperor 
for the first time agreed to conclude a religious peace at Nuremberg; 
hut, not long after, his opponents were so much reduced, as to submit 
to accept a re-establishment of nearly all the abuses they had renounced, 
1548. This was the crisis of the German reformation. A peculiar 
combination of circumstances induced Maurice of Saxony to declare 
for the Protestant cause; and, in 1555, Charles was compelled to grant, 
in the diet of Augsburg, a complete toleration of the Lutheran doctrines. 
The Helvetic reformation, commenced by Zuingle in 1518, was com- 
pleted by Calvin in 1541. A separation from those who adopted the 
articles of Augsburg grew out of a difference of opinion respecting the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The tenets of the reformers began to 
make way in France in 1519. They were condemned by the Sorbonne 
in 1521, but still found advocates in every class of society, particularly 
among the members of the learned professions. The views of Cabin, 
as proclaimed by his celebrated Institutes, 1536, were generally adopted. 
The progress of ecclesiastical reform in England and Scotland has been 
described elsewhere. In Poland, the freedom of the government allowed 
the adversaries of the Trinitarian doctrine to form a church, which has 
received its name from Socinus. In Spain and Italy the Reformation 
was crushed with the most unrelenting severity. 

The Council of Trent. — The Protestants, on their condemnation 
by the bull of Pope Leo X., had appealed to a general council, which 
was prevented from assembling by the troubled state of Europe. At 
length Paul III. convoked the long-wished-for assembly, which met at 
Trent in 1545, and did not close till 1563, in the pontificate of Pius IV. 
As might have been anticipated, the decisions of this convocation were 
far from allaying the religious differences. Doctrines depending on the 
credit of tradition alone were there sanctioned and defined ; and cere- 
monies, venerable only from their antiquity, were pronounced essential 
parts of worship. Among the articles decreed by this council to be 
implicitly believed, are: — The celibacy of the clergy; the equal 
authority of Scripture and tradition, including the apocryphal and cano- 
nical books; confession and absolution; communion in one kind only; 
the continuance of miracles; the worship of images and relics; the 
intercession of saints ; the adoration and immaculate conception of the 
Virgin Mary ; purgatory, or the intermediate state of punishment between 
death *md judgment, from which the souls of men can be delivered by 
the prayers, alms, or penance of the faithful ; and transubstantiation, or 
a belief that the consecrated wafer (or host) is absolutely changed, in 
the Lord's Supper, into the real and substantial body and blood of 
Christ. 

The Jesuits. — The rapid dissemination of Protestantism throughout 
Europe gave rise to a great increase of zeal among the adherents of the 
ancient worship. Several monastic orders were established at this 
period, solely to combat the spirit of innovation ; and of these the most 
celebrated arose in Spain. By the chivalrous enthusiasm of Ignatius 
Loyola, a Biscayan gentleman, the society of Jesuits was founded in 
1534, and sanctioned by Rome in 1540. At his death in 1556, the order 
h?d diffused itself over most of the Catholic countries of Western 
34 



398 MODERN HISTORY. 

Europe, and its missionaries were scattered throughout India, Ethiopia, 
and Brazil. The object of this association was the control of public 
opinion, by which power they hoped to oppose the new doctrines and 
the freedom of the intellect, supporting at the same time the highest 
assumptions of the papacy. Their principles were diffused by means 
of missions, confessionals, and the instruction of youth in seminaries 
under the control of the order. The good done by them in the propaga- 
tion of religion, and in various branches of science, is not to be depre- 
ciated ; but the political historian has not much to say in their favour. 
The order was suppressed in 1773 by a papal bull, and revived by 
another in 1814. 

LETTERS, ARTS, AND SCIENCES. 

The invention of printing, in the preceding century was followed almost as 
a consequence by the Protestant Reformation in the present ; and these two 
great events communicated an incalculable impulse to the cause of literature 
and science. The study of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue by the mass of 
the people, and by scholars in the original Hebrew and Greek, was the initia- 
tory step to various other departments of knowledge, and led to investigations 
in history, laws, geography, and antiquities, not less than in theology. Amid 
the intellectual excitement thus occasioned, principles were evolved destined to 
change the face of society, to lead science forward to the great discoveries of 
modern times, and to impart to literature a degree of vigour and originality 
rivalling the models of classic genius, as well as an influence on the progress 
of society hitherto unexampled. 

England. — During the first half of the sixteenth century, England could 
only boast of two distinguished poets, — Thomas Wyatt (d. 1541),* who com- 
posed sonnets in the style of Petrarch; and the unfortunate Surrey, 1547, the 
first English writer who made use of blank verse. Under Elizabeth flourished 
that accomplished soldier and patron of letters, Sir Philip Sydney, 1586, the 
author of the Arcadia; Raleigh, 1618, at once historian and statesman, poet 
and navigator; Dorset, whose political cares did not render him averse to the 
Muses, and who, in 1561, caused Gordubuc to be played, the first piece in 
verse that had been represented in London ; Daniel, 1619, an historian and the 
poet of the Wars of the Roses ; Southwell, 1595, whose verses are quoted for 
their elegance and noble sentiment ; Davies, 1626, whose poem on the Immor- 
tality of the Soul was the type of the Essay on Man; Drayton, 1631, whose 
elegiac, historical, and religious essays have been a great storehouse for suc- 
ceeding writers ; Spenser, 1599, whose Faery Quee?i has placed him in the 
foremost rank of English literature; and a greater genius still, the " honey- 
tongued" Shakspeare, 1616 ; with Gascoigne and Marlow, 1577 and 1593, his 
predecessors ; Beaumont and Fletcher, 1616 and 1625, Massinger, 1640, and 
Ben Jonson, 1637, his contemporaries, rivals, and sometimes his equals. The 
Ecclesiastical Polity of Hooker, 1600, has been justly famed; and the cele- 
brated Institutes of Coke, 1634, are still the standard authority on English law. 
The first document in the form of a newspaper is believed to have been pub- 
lished by Elizabeth's order, 23d July 1588. 

France. — The age of Francis I. is the first of the three literary eras of his 
country. The Italian expeditions had increased his taste for the fine arts, and 
he invited to his court Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, and Rosso. Las- 
caris, a learned Greek, was employed to form the king's library at Fontaine- 
bleau, and to introduce professors of his language into the university of Paris. 
At the solicitation of the learned Budaeus, 1540, the king established the Col- 
lege of France for the study of the sciences and of those recently cultivated 
languages which had no professor in the university. Literature was also 

♦The year of decease will be always given, as serving to mark more exactly the period 
at which the individual may be supposed to have flourished. 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 399 

adorned by the names of Marot, 1544, the inventor of the rondeau ; Rabelais, 
1553, the witty but impure author of the adventures of Pantagruel and Gar- 
gantua; Ronsard, 1585, an elegant poet and sonnetteer, especially distinguished 
by Francis I. ; Montaigne, 1592, the garrulous but sceptical essayist ; and 
Malherbe, 1628, some of whose poems are the most touching in the whole 
range of French literature. Philology was honoured by the printers and cri- 
tics, Robert and Henry Stephens, 1559 and 1598 ; by the learned Scaliger, 
1609; and by Casaubon, 1614. The names of Calvin, 1564, and the correct 
Beza, 1605, have distinguished the theology of France. 

Italy — This century was the famous Medician era of Italian literature. In 
il flourished the poets Ariosto, 1533, author of Orlando Fur ioso; Vida, 1566, 
who wrote the Christiad in Latin verse ; Tasso, 1595, celebrated for the epic 
of Jerusalem Delivered ; Guarini, 1612, the author of the Pastor Fido ; and 
Tassoni, 1635, the witty writer of the Rape of the Bucket. History was adorned 
by the acute Machiavelli, 1527, whose name has passed into a proverb ; by 
Guicciardini, 1540 ; by the Latin history of Venice by Bembo, 1547, who oc- 
casionally strayed into the field of poetry ; and by Sarpi, 1623, better known 
as Father Paul, the historian of the Council of Trent. Scholars and critics still 
respect the names of the printer Manutius Aldus, 1516, whose editions of the 
classics are highly prized ; of Sannazarius, 1530, whose poem De Partu Vir- 
ginis, is said to have occupied him twenty years ; and of the learned Joseph 
Scaliger, 1609. The unequalled paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, 1520; of 
Raphael, 1520; of Corregio, 1534; of Titian, 1576; and of the two Caracci, 
1609 and 1618, adorn the churches of Italy and the galleries of Europe ; while 
Michael Angelo, 1564, courted with equal success the rival muses of painting, 
sculpture, and architecture. Cardan, 1576, facilitated the operations of algebra, 
by his method for the solution of equations of the third degree. 

Spain. — The great exploits of Spain were celebrated by various eminent 
writers. The Jesuit Mariana, 1624, wrote a general history of that country ; 
Herrera, 1625, was the chronicler of the reign of Philip II. and of the Castilian 
conquests in the Western World; Garcilasso, 1536, revived the lyric poetry 
of the nation ; Ercilla, 1596, the most celebrated epic poet of the peninsula, 
composed, in 1590, the Araucana, in which he describes the wars he had 
shared in the New World. John de la Cueva, Christoval de Virues, Father 
Ojeda, and Zorate, each wrote an epic poem. Lope de Vega, the greatest poet 
of this era, 1635, also composed an epic on the conquest of Jerusalem ; but it 
was in the drama that he unfolded the full resources of his genius. Calderon, 
1687, who, with the poet just mentioned, scarcely belongs to this century, ranks 
in the very first class of tragic writers. The romance of Don Quixoto, by 
Cervantes, 1616, has become part of the standard literature of every civilized 
nation. Mendoza, Boscan, Louis de Leon, and Quevedo, have attained a 
European celebrity. 

Portugal. — The first Portuguese writer of merit was Ribeyro, 1521. 
Camoens, at once the glory and shame of his native land, died a year before 
Portugal was subjected to the Spanish crown, 1579. His great poem, the 
Lusiad, was written during his exile at Macao : it is a description of the dis- 
coveries and exploits of his countrymen in the East. 

Germany and Holland. — Albert Durer, 1528, the father of the German 
school of painting and engraving, after studying the Italian models, formed his 
style in the school of Bruges. Luke of Leyden, 1533, founded the Dutch 
school. Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1536, prepared, by the freedom of his popular 
writings, for a considerable change in the opinions of Europe. In poetry, the 
Minnesingers, the popular troubadours of Germany, were distinguished. 
Luther himself was no contemptible poet, and one of the chief writers of the 
day, 1546; and Zuingle the Swiss, 1531, and Melancthon, 1560, also adorned 
theology. Paracelsus alone, 1541, was conspicuous in natural philosophy, and 
Mereator, 1594, in geography ; Lipsius, 1606, and Buxtorf, 1629, were cele- 
brated for their learning and philological studies. Almost all that was pro- 
duced in this century, of whatever is elevated and precious, arose from the 
inspiration of Germany. Copernicus of Thorn in Poland, 1543, by comparing 



400 



MODERN HISTORY. 



he ancient notions of astronomy, hypothetically discovered that system of the 
planets which was afterwards demonstrated by Newton. Tycho Brahe, 1601, 
even when rejecting the suppositions of Copernicus, contributed to the advance- 
ment of astronomical science by the improvement of his optical instruments and 
his accurate observations, 1546-1601. Kepler, 1630, united the speculations of 
Copernicus with the method of Brahe, and, by his immortal labours, established 
the foundations of modern astronomy. In Switzerland, the physician Gesner 
introduced the study of the natural sciences, 1516-1565. 

Table to be fdled up by the pupil with notes on any personage the 
tutor may select. 



Name. 


Born and Died. 


Where. 


Performances. 


Critical Opinion or 
Remarks. 










' 



N. B. — The other literary periods may be studied according to this model. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 

Great Britain. — 1603, The Stuarts: James I.— 1605, Gunpowder Plot. — 
1621 Whigs and Tories.— 1625, Charles I.— 1638, Solemn Covenant; Long 
Parliament. — 1641, Irish Rebellion. — 1643, Episcopacy abolished. — Civil 
War.— 1649, The Commonwealth.— 1653, Cromwell Protector.— 1660, The 
Restoration : Charles II. — 1665, 1666, Plague and Fire of London. — 1679, 
Habeas Corpus Act. — 1688, Revolution: House of Orange. — 1694, Trien- 
nial Act. 

France. — 1610, Louis XIII. — Richelieu and Mazarin.— 1643, Louis XIV.— 
1659, Peace of Pyrenees. — 1668, Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. — 1685, Edict 
of Nantes revoked. — 1697, Peace of Ryswick. 

Spain and Portugal. — 1610, Moors expelled. — 1621, Philip IV. — Decline of 
Spain.— 1640, Revolution of Portugal.— Braganza Dynasty — 1668, Indepen- 
dence of Portugal. 

Italy. — 1647, Massaniello. — 1645, Candian War. 

Germany. — 1618, Thirty Years' War. — 1648, Treaty of Westphalia.— 1682, 
Insurrection of Tekeli. — 1683, Siege of Vienna by the Turks. — 1687, Hun- 
gary becomes hereditary in the Austrian Family. 

Holland.— 1609, Truce with Spain.— 1618, Synod of Dort— 1648 Treaty of 
Munster.— 1678, Treaty of Nimeguen.— 1689, William III. of Holland be 
comes King of England. 

Denmark.— 1588, Christian IV.— 1611, Swedish War.— 1648, Frederick III. 

Sweden. — 1611, Gustavus Adolphus. — 1632, Battle of Lutzen ; Christiana; 
Abdicates in 1654.— 1697, Charles XII. 

Poland.— 1632, Ladislaus IV.— 1647, Cossack War.— 1674, John Sobiesky; 
Raises the Siege of Vienna, 1683.— 1686, Treaty ot Leopol. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 401 

Russia.— 1613, Romanof Dynasty: Michael.— 1645, Alexis.— 1667, Revolt 
of the Cossacks. — 1689, Peter the Great; Turkish War. 

Ottoman Empire. — 1645, Candiau War. — 1669, Conquest of Candia ; Mo- 
hammed IV. — 1699, Treaty of Carlowitz. 

The East. — Shah Abbas.— 1694, Hussein Mirza. — 1644, Tartar Dynasty in 
China.— 1611, Dutch Trade with Japan. — 1659, Aurengzebe ; The Mah- 
rattas. 

Colonies. — 1600, East India Company. — 1623, Dutch Cruelties at Amboyna. 
— 1648, Factories at Madras and Hoogly ; 1699, Fort- William at Calcutta. 
— 1674, Colonies on Guinea Coast. — 1625, Barbadoes and St. Kitt's. — 1641, 
Sugar-cane planted in West Indies. — 1655, Conquest of Jamaica. — 1627, 
Boston founded.— 1630, Rhode Island.— 1632, Maryland.— 1680, Carolina. 
16S2, Pennsylvania. — 1664, French West India Company ; Buccaneers. — 
1650, Dutch settle at Cape of Good Hope. — 1656, Ceylon. 

Church. — 1638, Jansenism. — 1709, Port Royal suppressed. — 1650, Quakers. 

Inventions, &c. — 1602, Decimal Arithmetic. — 1610, Thermometer; Satel- 
lites of Jupiter. — 1614, Logarithms. — 1625, Barometer. — 1628, Circulation 
of Blood demonstrated; Tea, Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar introduced.— 
1658, Pocket Watches.— 1686, Newtonian Philosophy. 

GREAT BRITAIN. 

The Stuarts, 1603. — The death of Elizabeth terminated the main 
line of the Tudors, who had now filled the throne of England one hun- 
dred and eighteen years. The popular voice declared James VI. of 
Scotland heir to the crown, notwithstanding the claims of other com- 
petitors ; and the new sovereign accordingly removed from Edinburgh 
to London, and quietly assumed the sceptre by the title of James I. 
England and Scotland were thus at length united under one sovereign; 
and, at the suggestion of the king, who wished to obliterate all distinc- 
tion between them, the two countries henceforth received the common 
designation of Great Britain. The character of James was in many 
respects singular. To great capacity for learning, and abilities by no 
means contemptible, he united a degree of meanness, pusillanimity, and 
vanity, which accorded but ill with his lofty ideas of the divine rio-hts 
and authority of sovereigns. He was equally disposed with his prede- 
cessor to govern despotically ; but he was signally deficient in the 
vigour and tact which enabled Elizabeth to rule in the hearts as much 
as over the persons of her subjects. At the same time, the discontents 
of the Catholics, the fears of the church party, and the energy of the 
popular spirit, manifested particularly in the acts of the Puritans^ ren- 
dered the position of the monarch by no means an easy one. The latter 
party desired to make great alterations in the government and worship 
of the church; and, in the strictness of their manners and the fervour of 
their devotions, bore a striking resemblance to the Scottish Presbyterians. 
While, therefore, the nation was making rapid advances in wealth and 
intelligence, and trade and maritime enterprise flourished, causes were 
at work which threatened the stability of regal government, and led to 
the great national convulsions in the next reign. 

Gunpowder Plot. — Soon after the accession of James, a plot had 
been discovered to place Arabella Stuart, lineally descended from Henry 
34* 



402 MODERN HISTORY. 

VII., upon the throne ; but the conspirators, who were in correspondence 
with the Pope and Spain, were arrested and executed. In 1605, some 
disappointed Roman Catholics, at the head of whom were Robert Catesby 
and Thomas Percy, formed a conspiracy to destroy by gunpowder the 
king and assembled Parliament; and sixty-four barrels of powder had 
been actually deposited in the cellars beneath the house. This atrocious 
scheme was happily discovered, and the principals were severely 
punished. The famous Oath of Allegiance, 1606, was drawn up in con- 
sequence of this attempt; it asserted the supremacy of the sovereign 
relative to ecclesiastical matters, denying the Pope's right to depose him 
or absolve his subjects from their allegiance. The timidity of the 
monarch's temper, however, prevented him from taking further advan- 
tage of this circumstance to increase the persecution of the Catholic 
party. 

The most laudable act of James' reign was the settlement and planta- 
tion of the north of Ireland. Previously, the legislative authority of 
England had been circumscribed within a small district called " the 
Pale," — the rest of the country being abandoned to the sway of lawless 
native chiefs. The king extended the English law over the whole 
country, passed an act of indemnity for former offences, and procured 
the settlement in Ulster of thousands of English, Scotch, and well- 
disposed Irish, who contributed greatly to the pacification of the coun- 
try, 1609. 

While in Scotland, James had been governed by favourites, and he 
did not change his habits in England. He raised a Scotchman of the 
name of Carr from obscurity to the earldom of Rochester ; but he was 
subsequently neglected for the handsome George Villiers, who rapidly 
passed through every grade of nobility, and became Duke of Bucking- 
ham, invested with many of the principal offices of the kingdom. In 
16*21, the king summoned a parliament, in which already were seen the 
two parties known as Whigs and Tories, — the former for the people, the 
latter for the king. His last moments were disturbed by war. The 
Princess Elizabeth had been married in 1613 to Frederick, Elector Pa- 
latine; this prince had afterwards the misfortune to lose his dominions, 
in consequence of his having accepted the sovereignty of Bohemia,* not- 
withstanding the aid of his father-in-law, who took part in his favour 
against Austria and Spain. King Jaines died in 1625. 

One of the first acts of Charles I. was to marry the Princess Henri- 
etta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France, and a Catholic. The war 
with Spain still continuing, the king applied to parliament for aid ; but 
was there met with so keen a spirit of liberty, and so many complaints 
as to his government, that he was led to revive a practice of former 
sovereigns of levying taxes called benevolences and ship-money, by his 
own authority. These acts, coupled with his arrogant assertion of the 
arbitrary principles held by his father, excited a universal spirit of dis- 
content throughout the nation. In 1623, the Commons presented to him 
an act called a Petition of Right, limiting the powers of the crown, 
which not without difficulty he was prevailed on to sanction ; but the 
disputes with Parliament soon after ran to such a height, that he dis- 



* Sophia, youngest: daughter of this dethroned pair, having married the D-jke of 
Brunswick, was the ancestress of the family which now reigns in Britain. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. I). 403 

solved it in a fit of indignation, resolving never again to call another. 
About this time the Duke of Buckingham was assassinated ; and Laud, 
archbishop of Canterbury, together with the Earl of Strafford, became 
the chief advisers of the king. The Petition of Right was now alto- 
gether disregarded, great numbers of persons were dragged before an 
arbitrary court, called the Star-chamber, and frequently subjected by its 
sentence to the greatest indignities and tortures for the most trifling 
offences. 

In 1637, the attempts of Charles to introduce into Scotland the Epis- 
copalian form of worship, as more favourable to royalty than Presbyte- 
rianism, drove the Scots to rebellion. In 1638, they framed the cele- 
brated Covenant to maintain their ecclesiastical liberties, and took up 
arms against the king. A dreadful rebellion about the same time broke 
out in Ireland, in which thousands of Protestants were barbarously mas- 
sacred. Under these circumstances the Long Parliament assembled, 
and declared its sittings permanent until the popular grievances were 
redressed. This act, which deprived the king of one of his highest pre- 
rogatives, was fatal to the monarchy. The ministers, Strafford and 
Laud, were impeached and beheaded, the one in 1641, the other in 1644. 
The Presbyterians, who were a majority in the Commons, procured the 
exclusion of the bishops from the Upper House, 1641 ; an act w 7 hich was 
followed up in 1643 by the entire abolition of Episcopacy. 

Civil War. — The differences between the king and parliament had 
now come to a crisis. The former was generally supported by the no- 
bility and landed gentry, the Catholics, and the high church party ; 
while the latter found its chief strength in the mercantile and middle 
classes, and the lower orders of the great towns. Both parties resolved 
on an appeal tc arms. In August 1642, the royal standard was raised 
at Nottingham ; and for three years numerous engagements took place 
between the forces of the king and the parliament, the latter aided by 
the Scottish army. At length his majesty received a final overthrow at 
Naseby, 1645; and, unable longer to keep the field, he threw himself 
upon the protection of the Scots, then encamped at Newark, by whom 
he was soon after surrendered to the English parliamentary leaders, 1647. 
The whole power of the state had now fallen into the hands of the Inde- 
pendents, a fanatical sect, who declared for democratic government both 
in church and state. At the head of this party was Oliver Cromwell, 
general of the army, a man of great talent and address, and who seems 
now to have formed the design of obtaining supreme power. Havincr 
forcibly succeeded in excluding from parliament about tw T o hundred 
members of the Presbyterian party who were supposed favourable to 
royalty, Cromwell and his associates resolved on the death of the king, 
2 648. He was accordingly brought to trial, condemned, and executed, 
1649 ; an act which struck Europe with amazement, and has been 
generally condemned as alike illegal, sanguinary, and impolitic. 

The Commonwealth. — The parliament, known by the appellation of 
the Rump, now administered the affairs of the country ; but all real 
power lay in the hands of Cromwell and the army. During the progress 
of the civil war, an attempt had been made in Scotland to produce a 
diversion in the king's favour by the chivalrous Marquis of Montrose, 
who gained several victories, but was eventually defeated and forced to 
*mit the kingdom. The royalists were still in considerable force in 



404 MODERN HISTORY. 

Ireland under the Duke of Ormond, and a large body of Catholic insur- 
gents were not indisposed to join them ; but, before any such union 
could be effected, Cromwell repaired thither with an army, defeated all 
his opponents, and rapidly overran the whole country, 1649. In the 
following year, the Scots having proclaimed Charles II., he crossed the 
Tweed, and gained a signal victory at Dunbar; and, though the young 
prince, after wards led a Scottish army into England, he was defeated at 
Worcester, and compelled to take refuge in France, 1(351. The victo- 
rious general now dissolved the Long Parliament, and governed by his 
own authority under the title of Lord Protector. The struggle for popu- 
lar rights had therefore ended in a military despotism, distinguished, 
however, for great vigour and ability. On the seas, the fleets of Crom- 
well were successful against the Dutch, whom he compelled to strike 
their flag to the English, 1053. Uniting with France against Spain, 
1655, he took the valuable island of Jamaica; and, in 1658, the port of 
Dunkirk was delivered to him. Under the Protector, England became 
both respected and feared throughout Europe; but his power at home 
was crumbling to pieces, and he eventually sank under the anxieties of 
his position, in September 1658. 

The Restoration. — Cromwell was succeeded by his son Richard in 
his dignity of Protector; but, finding himself incapable of resisting the 
intrigues of the various parties and the cabals of the army, he quietly 
abdicated, and retired into private life. The dissensions that followed 
were terminated by General Monk, commander of the forces in Scotland, 
who marched with his army to London, and assembled a free parlia- 
ment, which unanimously invited King Charles to return to the throne 
of his ancestors. Accordingly, on the 29th May 1660, the anniversary 
of his thirtieth birthday, the monarch entered London. 

Charles II., at the beginning of his reign, used every method to con- 
ciliate his subjects, forming his council indiscriminately of men of all 
parties. A general amnesty which had been promised was confirmed, 
those only being excepted who were considered as the promoters of the 
late king's death, ten of whom suffered capital punishment.* Charles 
then disbanded the army of Cromwell, restored the Episcopal clergy to 
their benefices, and rewarded those who had contributed to his return. 
In 1662, he married Catherine of Portugal, an unhappy union, contracted 
with interested views. In personal character the king was licentious, 
indolent, and careless of religion; and he spent his time almost exclu- 
sively in the indulgence of the basest appetites. The liberal civil list 
afforded him by parliament proved altogether insufficient for his expen- 
diture ; and he basely accepted £10,000 from Louis XIV., as the price 
of the surrender of Dunkirk, and even condescended to receive a secret 
pension from that prince. With the view of obtaining parliamentary 
subsidies, he also engaged in a naval war with Holland, which, though 
generally favourable to the British, had, in 1667, nearly led to the de- 
struction of London by the Dutch fleet. 

Plague and Fire of London. — In the summer of 1665, London was 
visited by a dreadful pestilence, which swept off about 100,000 people, 
and abated little till the approach of winter. Houses were rendered 

* The most, illustrious victim was the Martinis of Argyle in Scotland, who had placed 
(he crown on the kind's head at Scone in 1(551. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 405 

tenantless, grass grew in the streets, and the whole city presented one 
wide scene of misery and desolation. This was succeeded in the fol- 
lowing autumn by a conflagration, which raged a whole week, destroy- 
ing 13,200 houses and eighty-nine churches. The night was as clear 
as day to the distance of ten miles round ; and even on the Scottish 
border its strange effect upon the sky was perceptible. In the end, 
however, this latter calamity was advantageous to London; the city has 
never since been visited by pestilence ; and the widening of the streets, 
improved drainage, and stricter police regulations, now render it one of 
the healthiest capitals in the world. 

Persecution in Scotland — Popish Plot. — The great object of 
Charles was the re-establishment of Popery and arbitrary power ; and 
though still himself professing adherence to the Reformed doctrines, his 
brother James, duke of York, openly affiliated with the Jesuits. An 
iniquitous attempt had been made to force Episcopacy upon the people 
of Scotland, and upwards of 300 Presbyterian ministers were expelled 
from their livings. The people then began to hold conventicles in the 
fields, where they attended the services of their expelled pastors ; but 
the execrable barbarities employed to overcome their opposition to the 
new arrangements at length drove them to insurrection, which was sup- 
pressed by a war of extermination.* The prejudices and fears of the 
English people began now to be effectually aroused. In 1673, the Test 
Act was passed, imposing a religious oath upon all who entered the pub- 
lic service. This was followed in 1678 by a panic equally foolish and 
deplorable. The infamous Titus Oates succeeded in propagating a 
general belief in a pretended Popish Plot for the massacre of the Pro- 
testants ; and, in the midst of the ferment thus occasioned, many inno- 
cent Catholics were judicially massacred. The Parliament now became 
more and more intractable : they passed the celebrated Habeus Corpus 
Act; and the Commons even prepared a bill for the exclusion of the 
Duke of York from the succession. This latter measure seems to have 
produced a temporary reaction in the king's favour, who dissolved the 
nouses, and reigned by his own arbitrary authority, 1681. A plan was 
now formed by the late majority to raise simultaneous insurrections in 
London, the west of England, and Scotland. This was discovered ; and 
the leaders, Russel, Sydney, and others, becoming implicated also in 
the Rye-house Plot for murdering the king, perished on the scaffold, 
1683. Charles II. died in 1685. 

The Revolution, 1688. — The commencement of the reign of James 
II. was sufficiently favourable: the Commons voted him an ample reve- 
nue; the university of Oxford and the Scottish Parliament recoo-nised 
his "sacred, supreme, and absolute authority." The character of the 
new king was much more respectable than that of his brother; but he 
was deficient in those popular and showy qualities by which Charles, 
notwithstanding his tyranny and vices, had succeeded in making him- 
self agreeable to his subjects. James had all along been an avowed 
Catholic ; and, though he began his reign by professing an intention to 
govern according to the laws, it soon became apparent that he had set 

*On a ir.onumental stone in the Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh, may be seen an 
inscription, which states that, between 16G1 and 1088, 18,000 persons are "computed to 
have suffered death for their faith. 



406 MODERN HISTORY. 

his heart on overthrowing the established religion. An unfortunate 
expedition of the Duke of Monmouth, natural son of the late king, to 
etFect a rising in the west of England, and of the Duke of Argyle in 
Scotland, which ended in the execution of both, gave him additional 
confidence in the prosecution of his design. He proceeded to dispense 
with the Test Act, by proclaiming a general toleration in favour of the 
Catholics ; and six bishops who opposed his proceedings were impri- 
soned, but subsequently liberated on trial. The Romanists were now 
openly admitted to the royal councils, chapels being everywhere 
erected ; and he even held a correspondence with the pope for the pur- 
pose of placing England once more under the dominion of the holy see. 
The fears of the people were excited to the highest pitch by the birth 
of a Prince of Wales ; and all ranks uniting with the clergy and nobility, 
William, prince of Orange, who had married the Princess Mary, was 
invited to England to defend the Protestant cause. On the 5th of No- 
vember, the prince landed at Torbay with an armament; soon after 
which, the chief persons in the kingdom flocked to his standard, and 
the troops of James went over to him. His majesty himself, deserted 
on all hands, made his escape to France, leaving the crown, without a 
struggle, in the hands of his son-in-law. 

GENEALOGY OF THE HOUSES OF ORANGE AND BRUNSWICK. 
24. James I., b. 156(5; k. Gr. B. 1G03; d. 1625. 



t Elizabeth, b. 1596. 25. Charles I. k. 1625 ; beh. 1649. 

26. Charles II., Mary, m. William 27. James II., k. 1685; Henrietta Maria. 

k. 1660, d. 1685. II. of Orange, dep. 1689 : in. 1. Anne 

1641, d. 1661. Hyde ; 2. Mary of 

Modena. 



28. William III., p. of Orange, b. 1650 = 28 Mary, 29. Anne, James Edward, 

q. 1689. 1702. the Pretender. 



\ Elizabeth, m. Frederick V., elect, pal., 1613, d. 1661. 



Sophia, dec. heiress to throne, 1700, m. Ernest Augustus, el. of Hanover, 1658, d. 1714. 

HOUSE OF HANOVER? 
30. George I., k. 1714. 

House of Orange. — The bloodless revolution of 1688 established 
the great principle, that "when a government, by its aggravated abuses, 
has ceased to command the support of the people and to be an instru- 
ment of good, it is no longer entitled to obedience." The accession of 
William terminated the persecution in Scotland ; the Presbyterian 
church was established by law ; and, excepting among the Highland 
clans, who made some resistance under Viscount Dundee, the new 
government was at first very popular. On the other hand, the Catholics 
in Ireland made common cause with the deposed monarch, who landed 
in that country in the spring of 1089, and soon found himself at the 
head of a large but undisciplined army. He was defeated hy his 
antagonist at the battle of the Boyne, and immediately returned to 
France; while his adherents acceded to the new order of things by the 
treaty of Limerick, signed soon after. William's great operations against 
Louis XIV. prevented him, had he been so disposed, from impeding the 
liberal measures of Parliament, and the Triennial Act was accordingly 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 407 

passed, 1694. In 1691, for a merely legal offence, an atrocious massacre 
was perpetrated in the Highlands on the clan of Macdonald of Glencoe, 
from which the sovereign was never able altogether to clear himself; 
and the affections of the Scottish people were further alienated by the 
obstacles thrown in the way of their commerce at the instigation of the 
English merchants, particularly in regard to an expedition fitted out to 
colonize the isthmus of Darien, in which many hundred persons lost 
their lives, and a large capital was irrecoverably lost, 1699. The Jaco- 
bite party consequently became strong in Scotland, while not a little 
dissatisfaction prevailed in the south ; and, though the peace of Rys- 
wick, 1697, enabled the king" to spend the remainder of his days in 
peace, he was subjected to much domestic inquietude. 

FRANCE. 

On the death of Henry IV. in 1610, the crown of France descended 
to his son Louis XIII., a minor, under the regency of the queen, Mary 
of Medici. In October 1614, the prince was declared to be of age; and 
in the year following, he married Anne, daughter of Philip III. of Spain. 
Sully having retired, an Italian named Concini, a creature of the queen- 
mother, possessed the direction of affairs. The nobility, disgusted by 
his insolence, began a civil war, headed by the Prince of Conde, but 
were appeased by concessions, 1615. The king himself, become im- 
patient of the rule of his parent and the favourite, by the advice of a 
young courtier named Luines, procured his assassination ; his wife was 
condemned to death on a charge of magic ; and the queen-dowager was 
sent to Blois under arrest, 1617. Louis, who, during the whole of his 
reign, was altogether incapable of conducting- affairs, now became a 
passive instrument in the hands of Luines, who was raised to the 
highest rank and offices in the state. 

Richelieu. — Some years after, Mary escaped from Blois, and being- 
supported by the Duke of Epernon and other nobles, a civil war broke 
out; but it was composed by the mediation of Armand du Plessis, 
bishop of Lucon, known afterwards as Cardinal Richelieu, who effected 
a reconciliation between Louis and his mother. In 1620, an attempt 
having been made to invade the liberties of the Protestants, they flew 
to arms ; and in the hostilities that followed, Luines, now Constable, 
lost his life, when a peace was concluded, confirming' the edict of 
Nantes, 1622. The haughty Richelieu now became prime-minister, 
and soon displayed the possession of abilities of the highest order, with 
an unscrupulous perseverance in the prosecution of his designs. There 
were three parties whom he resolved to humble; — the nobility, the 
Huguenots, and the house of Austria. With these views, he concluded 
a marriage between Charles, prince of Wales, and the king's sister, 
Henrietta, and effected an alliance between the two monarchs and Hol- 
land. A war with Spain was the consequence, 1625, which, however, 
led to no important results. The Protestants having rebelled, he laid 
siege to Rochelle, their great stronghold, which was forced to surrender, 
1628; and they were eventually compelled to yield all their fortified 
towns. 

The French dissenters were now effectually subdued, and the whole 
kingdom brought under the supreme authority of the crown. Richelieu 



408 MODERN HISTORY. 

ruled the country with a rod of iron ; he negotiated with the King of 
Sweden, and aided the German Protestants against Austria ; attacked 
the latter power in Italy ; and assisted in re-establishing the indepen- 
dence of Portugal. But his ambition was of an exalted kind: to him 
France was indebted for the establishment of the Academy ; he liberally 
encouraged literature and the arts, and promoted the revival of national 
commerce, ruined by two centuries of domestic war. In spite of all 
enemies, the cardinal retained the administration of affairs till his death, 
1642, at the very time when the combined forces of Sweden and France 
had utterly humbled the pride of the house of Austria. Louis XIII. 
died a few months after. 

Mazarin and the Fronde. — The subtle policy of the Italian Mazarin 
succeeded the energetic rule of Richelieu, and was continued during the 
minority of the young king, Louis XIV., 1643. The new minister had 
the satisfaction of concluding the treaty of Westphalia, which termi- 
nated the thirty years' war, France gaining thereby several important 
acquisitions, 1648. The early part of this reign was however disturbed 
by the troubles of the Fronde, as they were called, headed by the Car- 
dinal de Retz. A war was begun against the minister, while the rebels 
proclaimed their unbroken attachment to the crown. These disorders, 
which served only to embroil the nation, without leading to any decisive 
result, were terminated by the king's majority, 1653; and during the 
nine succeeding years, Mazarin's attention to the finances prepared the 
way for great military exertions. 

The Spaniards, in the war terminating 1648, had been severely 
defeated at Rocroi: by the Duke d'Enghien, and near Gibraltar by the 
French fleet under the Duke de Breze ; besides which they lost many 
strong places. But they did not accede to the treaty of Westphalia, 
and the war still continued in the Low Countries, Turenne commanding 
the French troops, while the Prince of Conde, who had been exiled 
during the late troubles, fought on the side of the Spaniards. At Arras 
and Valenciennes, the talents of the rivals were alike conspicuous, 1656. 
Mazarin now formed an alliance with Cromwell, and Turenne gained 
the famous victory of Dunes, 1658. This led to a pacification in the 
ensuing year, known as the treaty of the Pyrenees, by which France 
gained Artois, Roussillon, part of Flanders, Hainault, and Luxem- 
bourg ; Louis at the same time married the Infanta Maria Theresa, and 
agreed to pardon Conde. 

In 1667, six years after the death of Mazarin, began those aggres- 
sions which alarmed all Europe. In 1657, that minister had made an 
unsuccessful attempt to get Louis elected emperor, which led to a long 
and bitter animosity between Leopold and the French king. The 
minister, Colbert, had largely multiplied the resources of the country, 
and the war department was systematized and brought to a high state 
of efficiency by Louvois. On the death of Philip IV. of Spain, Louis 
laid claim to the duchy of Brabant in right of his wife, and entered 
Flanders with 40,000 men. His success led to a triple alliance between 
Britain, Sweden, and Holland, which compelled him to accede to the 
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1668 ; but having resolved to revenge himself 
on Holland, he succeeded in breaking up the confederacy, by securing 
the alliance of Charles II. Under the most frivolous pretences, both 
monarchs declared war against the United Provinces, 1672; a combined 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 409 

fleet of a. >re than one hundred sail put to sea, while the French king 
invaded the frontiers with an army of 120,000 men. The Dutch de- 
termined to make a vigorous resistance : the Prince of Orange was 
placed at the head of the land forces, and the gallant De Ruyter com- 
manded 130 ships. 

The hostile fleets came in sight of each other in Southwold Bay, 
where a desperate engagement was fought, with no decisive advantage 
to either party. The French army, however, commanded under Louis 
by Turenne, Conde, and Luxembourg, was more successful. Having 
passed the Rhine, Nimeguen and Utrecht opened their gates, and all 
the provinces, except Holland and Zealand, were forced to submit. 
The former broke down the sluices and laid the country under water ; 
the Prince of Orange was declared stadtholder; and all idea of submis- 
sion was abandoned. The prospects of the Dutch now began to 
brighten. The combined fleets were driven from the coast of Holland 
by violent storms, and three naval actions, vigorously contested, termi- 
nated rather in favour of De Ruyter and Van Tromp. In the mean 
time, the troops of the empire having united with the Prince of Orange, 
the electorate of Cologne was conquered; and the communication 
between France and Holland being thus cut off, Louis was forced to 
recall his army and abandon his conquests, 1673. The King of Spain 
now declared war against France, and Charles II., unable to get sup- 
plies from his parliament, made peace with the United Provinces. Five 
bloody but indecisive campaigns followed ; the preponderance of success 
by land, however, lay on the side of the French, while the Dutch and 
Spanish fleets were defeated in the Mediterranean. The peace of Nime- 
guen put an end to the contest, Louis obtaining Franche-Comte and 
sixteen fortresses in the Low Countries, 1678. 

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685. — The character of the 
French monarch was essentially absolute. His favourite expression was, 
" I am the state ;" and, on this principle, having determined that nothing 
should oppose his supreme authority, he stript the parliament of their 
privileges, and regarded the body of the nation as the mere instruments 
of his ambition. He hated the Protestants from religious bigotry, but 
still more because he regarded them as rebellious subjects. Influenced 
by these motives, and instigated by Louvois, Madame de Maintenon, 
whom he had privately married, and the Jesuits, he resolved on the 
wicked and disastrous measure of revoking the Edict of Nantes. This 
act, by proscribing Protestantism in France, deprived that country of 
thousands of its most industrious and enterprising subjects, and produced 
general alarm throughout Europe. Children at the age of seven years, by 
apostatizing, were declared independent of their parents ; military execu- 
tions were employed to enforce uniformity of worship ; voluntary exile was 
prohibited ; and the declaration of the illegality of Protestant marriages 
rendered the issue illegitimate. 

Consequences. — The terrible effects of this measure are not easily described, 
and they are such as France has never recovered. Before the revocation, from 
14,000 to 15,000 persons had removed to the commercial cities of Hamburg and 
Amsterdam, most of whom were wealthy and respectable, and engaged in 
commerce. But the number of refugees was alarmingly increased by the recall 
of the edict. Within a few years, nearly one million of individuals went into 
exile ; in one season, the Prince of Orange raised three regiments and manned 
35 



410 MODERN HISTORY. 

three ships of war with French Protestants. Not less than twenty millions 
sterling of property left the country ; and, in the loss of her active and enter- 
prising population, France suffered the worst consequences of civil war. In the 
course of five years, the inhabitants of Tours had dwindled away from eighty 
to thirty thousand. The silk manufacturers, so hospitably received in England, 
laid the foundation of the great works of Spitalrields ; and Picardy Place in 
Edinburgh still marks the site of the factories there established. 

Louis was at this time the most powerful prince in Europe, and the 
necessity of restraining his encroachments was felt by every surrounding 
state. The Grand Alliance of 1689, the result of the elevation of Wil- 
liam of Orange to the English throne, included the Emperor, Holland, 
Spain, the northern powers, and Savoy. The French king sent two 
large armies into Flanders; a third was opposed to the Spaniards in 
Catalonia ; reinforcements were given to James II. in Ireland ; while his 
troops in Germany perpetrated one of the most barbarous deeds on 
record, in the wanton destruction of the Palatinate. In 1691, his fleet 
defeated the combined English and Dutch off Beachy-head ; but the 
conquerors in their turn were vanquished near La Hogue in the follow- 
ing year. The forces of the allies, commanded by the King of England, 
were worsted by Luxembourg at Landen, 1693 ; while Catinat overthrew 
the Duke of Savoy near the river Cisola. Meanwhile, the resources 
of France were becoming exhausted ; agriculture and commerce lan- 
guished ; and the two following campaigns were indecisive. All parties 
being now tired of hostilities, the treaty of Ryswick was at length con- 
cluded, Louis acknowledging the title of William III., and restoring his 
principal conquests, 1697. 

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 

Spain. — Philip III., 1598, was not "destitute of amiable qualities, but 
he was excessively indolent, and fully equalled his father in intolerance. 
The chief circumstances of his reign were the virtual recognition of the 
independence of the United Provinces by a truce of twelve years, 1609, 
and the expulsion of the Moors from Spain. The former event was 
brought about not less by the heroic resistance of the Netherlanders, than 
by the absolute exhaustion of his resources. As if desirous of consum- 
mating the ruin of his kingdom, he yielded so far to the Inquisition and 
the advice of his feeble and bigoted minister, the Duke of Lerma, as to 
issue an edict commanding all his Mohammedan subjects to leave it 
within thirty days, 1610. The Moors, in despair, flew to arms ; they 
were subdued, and a million of industrious subjects driven into exile. 

Philip IV., 16-31, possessed even less energy than his predecessor, 
and was entirely controlled by his minister Olivarez, a man of some 
ability, but conceited and ambitious. W nile the resources of the coun- 
try were daily declining, and agriculture and trade suffered from exces- 
sive imposts, this politician resolved upon plunging into war, notwith- 
standing the discontent of all classes of the people. His intrigues were 
among the causes which led to the sanguinary contests in Germany ter- 
minated by the treaty of Westphalia, and to the struggle with France 
till the peace of the Pyrenees, ten years later. All his measures were 
eminently disastrous. The English took Jamaica and Dunkirk ; while 
the French signally defeated his forces on the plains of Rocroi. A dan- 
gerous insurrection in Catalonia was followed in 1640 by the revolt of 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 411 

Portugal. In consequence of this vicious administration, the country 
became so poor that the government was compelled to have recourse to 
copper money, to which a value was attached equal to that of silver. To 
complete the humiliation of Philip, the independence of Holland was 
fully acknowledged, 1643. 

Portugal. — The revolution which restored the independence of Por- 
tugal was brought about mainly by the weakness of Spain. The people 
had long been exasperated by the despotism of their foreign rulers ; the 
want of troops had compelled Olivarez to withdraw great part of the 
garrison from Lisbon; and the country at large was occupied by a very 
small force. When the revolt took place in Catalonia, orders came from 
Madrid for the Portuguese nobility to take arms for its suppression. But 
a plot which had long existed now broke out. The conspirators, headed 
by the Archbishop of Lisbon, met in secret, and resolved on the eleva- 
tion of their legitimate prince, the duke of Braganza, to the throne. He 
was accordingly proclaimed king by the title of John IV., 1640, the 
whole nation at once eagerly acknowledging him. A similar revolution 
was accomplished with equal facility in all the colonies in India and 
Africa. 

The treaty of the Pyrenees, 1659, left Spain free to attempt the reco- 
very of Portugal, which was obliged to form a defensive alliance with 
England. Alpiionso VI. had succeeded his father in 1656, and strength- 
ened his position by marrying his sister, the Infanta Catherine, to Charles 
the Second. France also felt it to be her interest to support the cause 
of the Portuguese against Spain. In the course of the war, which was 
vigorously conducted on both sides, Alphonso was forced to abdicate in 
favour of his brother, Peter II., who immediately concluded a peace 
with the Spanish monarch, by which the independence of his own coun- 
try was acknowledged, 1668. Philip IV. of Spain was succeeded by 
his infant son, Charles II., in 1665, the queen-mother being appointed 
regent. During this reign, the same vicious administration prevailed 
which had already been so disastrous to the nation ; its internal affairs 
were reduced to the most miserable condition, and its arms abroad 
were exposed to continual reverses. Three successive wars with France 
ended severally in the treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1668; Nimeguen, 
1678; and Ryswick, 1697, at each of which Spain was compelled to 
resign some portion of her territories in Flanders to her powerful and 
ambitious neighbour. 

ITALIAN PENINSULA: 

The Reformation entirely destroyed the political importance of Italy. 
The Pope was no longer a sovereign whose alliance could turn the fate 
of a campaign ; and Spain, mistress of the Two Sicilies and of the Mi- 
lanese, dictated to the other petty states of the peninsula. In 1647, 
Naples w T as the scene of a remarkable event. It was governed by depu- 
ties appointed by the court of Madrid, whose cruelties and extortions at 
length drove the people to insurrection. A fisherman, named Massa- 
niello, who put himself at their head, was raised to the supreme power; 
but, intoxicated or maddened by his elevation, he indulged in such ex- 
cesses as led to his speedy abandonment by his own partisans, and he 
was assassinated by the viceroy's orders. The Neapolitans then placed 



412 MODERN HISTORY. 

themselves under the protection of the Duke of Guise, who Mas not 
expelled without difficulty. Similar causes led to a rehellion at Messina 
in 1674, the citizens proclaiming Louis X1Y. king of Sicily. A naval 
war followed in the Mediterranean; but, by the treaty of Nimeguen, 
1678, the Messenese were abandoned to the mercy of their former mas- 
ters. 

Venice. — In 16*24, a law was passed in this republic, bestowing the 
exclusive jurisdiction over patricians, in criminal matters, on the Council 
of Ten. The senate made a vigorous resistance to the claims of Paul 
V., by forbidding the erection of additional monasteries, or the alienation 
of property for spiritual purposes without the consent of government; 
they also successfully vindicated their sovereignty over the Adriatic, 
which, with the connivance of Austria, had been infested by Dalmatian 
pirates. In the latter half of this century, the republic carried on two 
wars with Turkey. The first, in Candia, was protracted twenty-five 
years, and closed in 1669 by the capitulation of the chief city, after a 
heroic resistance, and the loss of the island. In the second contest, how- 
ever, commencing in 1684, the commonwealth reconquered the Morea; 
and in 1699, that province, with the isles of Egina and Santa Maura, 
and several fortresses in Dalmatia, were secured to her by the peace of 
Carlowitz. But the resources of Venice were exhausted, and the affec- 
tions of the Greeks alienated by an unseasonable zeal against the Eastern 
church. The Turks took advantage of the dissatisfaction thus created; 
and a war commenced in 1715, ending with the peace of Passarowitz, 
1718, whereby Greece once more returned to its Mohammedan masters. 

GERMANY. 

Rudolph II. was succeeded, in 1612, by his brother Matthias, who 
had already obtained the sovereignty of Hungary and Bohemia. This 
prince had hitherto favoured the Lutherans ; but the liberal spirit gene- 
rated by their principles being opposed to the despotic maxims of the 
house of Austria, he now resolved to curb them ; and, with this view, a 
family compact was formed with Spain, while his cousin Ferdinand, 
Duke of Styria, was chosen successor to the crowns of Hungary and 
Bohemia. The subjects of the latter were soon in open insurrection, in 
consequence of the intolerant proceedings of the Bishop of Prague, who 
had demolished several Protestant places of worship; and a general 
feeling of distrust was excited throughout Germany. This was the com- 
mencement of a sanguinary and protracted conflict. 

Thirty Years' War. — Ferdinand II. succeeded Matthias in the 
imperial dignity, 1619. The Bohemians, however, having been refused 
satisfaction for the outrages committed on their churches, declared their 
crown vacant, and offered it to Frederick V., elector-palatine, who, con- 
trary to the advice of his father-in-law, James I. of England, agreed to 
accept it. He was supported by most of the Protestant princes of the 
empire, by a body of British and Dutch auxiliaries, and by Bethlehem 
Gabor, prince of Transylvania ; while the Catholic electors and the King 
of Spain were ranged on the side of Ferdinand. Spinola, then com- 
manding the Spanish forces in the Low Countries, led 24,000 men into 
the palatinate; and Frederick himself was defeated at the White Moun- 
tain, near Prague, by the Duke of Bavaria, 1620. He and his adherents 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 413 

were put to the ban of the empire ; and his dominions having been en- 
tirely overrun by Count Tilly, the Bavarian prince received the dignity 
of elector. Another Protestant confederacy, 1G25, at the head of which 
was Christian IV. of Denmark, having in view the restoration of the 
palatinate, was equally unfortunate. In two successive campaigns, the 
imperial troops, led by Tilly and Wallenstein, were everywhere triumph- 
ant; Christian was driven into his hereditary dominions, and forced to 
sue for peace, 1629. 

The emperor, flushed with success, now conceived that he had found 
a favourable opportunity for reducing the German princes to the condi- 
tion of nobles in other countries ; but he resolved to begin with the Pro- 
testants. He accordingly abolished the exercise of their religion in 
Bohemia, exiled or put to death their leaders, confiscating their property ; 
seven hundred noble families were proscribed, while the common people 
were forced to conform to the Romish worship. In Germany, however, 
he proceeded more cautiously. He began by excluding the Calvinists 
from the benefits of the general toleration formerly granted, and passed 
an edict commanding the restoration of the church lands seized by the 
Protestant princes subsequently to the treaty of Passau. Even the 
Catholic electors opposed the execution of this edict, having themselves 
also obtained no small amount of ecclesiastical property ; and the diet 
held at Ratisbon insisted that the emperor should reduce his army and 
dismiss his commander Wallenstein, who had become hateful by his 
arrogance and the disorders of his troops. 

Meanwhile, the Protestants had formed a secret alliance with Gusta- 
vus Adolphus, king of Sweden, who resolved to take up arms in defence 
of religious toleration, 1630. Cardinal Richelieu engaged to furnish 
him with an annual subsidy of 1,200,000 livres; he was joined by 6000 
men under the Marquis of Hamilton ; and numerous volunteers from 
Britain repaired to his standard. On the first appearance of Gustavus in 
Pomerania, the Protestant princes hesitated to join him ; but the energy 
and success of his operations speedily secured their adherence. In the 
course of eight months, he had taken eighty fortified places ; and, being 
joined by the troops of Saxony, he advanced towards Leipsic, and pre- 
pared to encounter the imperialists under Tilly. The hostile armies 
met on the 7th December 1631; the battle was long and obstinately 
contested ; but at length the skill of the Swedish monarch and the valour 
of his soldiers gained a complete victory. The whole country was now 
rapidly overrun : Tilly, disputing the passage of the Lech, was killed, 
1632; and Gustavus entered Munich in triumph. Wallenstein was 
again put at the head of the imperial forces ; he succeeded in recovering 
several places taken by the enemy, and eventually engaged Gustavus at 
Lutzen, where the Swedes gained another victory, too dearly bought 
with the life of their heroic sovereign, 1632. 

Notwithstanding the dismay occasioned by the death of Gustavus, the 
contest continued to be prosecuted with vigour till 1634, when the severe 
defeat of the Swedes at Nordlingen revived the hopes of Austria. The 
German princes now made a separate treaty with Ferdinand, in which 
he departed from his former demands as to the church property ; and the 
weight of the war fell upon the Swedes and French. Ferdinand III. 
succeeded his father in 1637; and, though naturally a wise and temper- 
ate prince, he felt himself under the necessity of pursuing the same 
35* 



414 MODERN HISTORY. 

policy. In the four following- campaigns, the fortune of war was de- 
cidedly against the imperialists; and in 1641, the Swedish general, 
Banier, had nearly taken the emperor prisoner while holding a diet at 
Ratishon. Ferdinand's armies were defeated one after another ; his 
family were forced to flee from Vienna ; and at length the victory of 
Zummerhausen, gained by Turenne and Vrangel, compelled him to 
think seriously of terminating the contest. This was finally brought 
about by the peace of Westphalia, 1648, which secured some important 
advantages to France and Sweden. By this celebrated treaty, the Lu- 
therans and Catholics were placed on a footing of equality; six Pro- 
testants were to be admitted into the Aulic Council, and equal numbers 
of each party were to be summoned to the diet and to have seats in the 
Imperial Chamber. 

The remainder of the reign of Ferdinand was spent in tranquillity ; his 
death took place in 1657. His son, Leopold I., had been proclaimed 
King of Hungary in 1655; of Bohemia in 1657; and notwithstanding 
the rivalry of Louis XIV., was chosen emperor in 1659. The Turks, 
having made an inroad into the former country, were defeated, and a 
truce of twenty years concluded. But the intolerance of the Austrian 
court constantly furnished matter of irritation to the Hungarians; and, 
in 1682, the malcontents broke out into open insurrection, under Count 
Tekeli, whose father had previously been executed for a conspiracy, 
along with some other noblemen. The rebel was immediately acknow- 
ledged by the Porte as Prince of Hungary, tributary to the sultan ; and, 
regardless of the truce, the vizier joined him with an army of 150,000 
men.* The confederates, having defeated the imperial troops near 
Raab, advanced to Vienna, which was invested on the 15th July 1683 ; 
a long and desperate siege w T as nearly terminated by its loss, when at 
length the Poles, under John Sobieski, appeared for its deliverance. 
On the 12th September, the Turks were defeated under the walls of the 
city ; two or three well-fought campaigns drove them out of Hungary ; 
and, with the view of humbling the nobility of that country, the crown 
was declared no longer elective, but hereditary in the house of Aus- 
tria, Joseph, Leopold'js son, being ordained king, 1687. The Turkish 
contest was at length concluded, after a complete victory gained by 
Prince Eugene near Zenta, by the peace of Carlowitz, 1697. 

During this century Leopold took part in two wars against Louis 
XIV., which have already been noticed under the head France. The 
last of these, disgraced by the most atrocious cruelty on the part of the 
French generals, was ended by the peace of Ryswick, 1697. The reign 
of this emperor was signalized by the establishment of a ninth electorate 
in favour of Ernest Augustus, duke of Brunswick and Luneburg, who 
became the first Elector of Hanover, 1692; and by the assumption of 
the regal title by Frederick, elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prus- 
sia, in 1701. A permanent diet was also established, attended not by 
the electors in person but by their representatives. 

HOLLAND. 

After the battle of Turnhout, Philip II., who had begun to suspect the 
hopelessness of the contest, transferred the sovereignty of the Low 

* It came to be: known afterwards that Louis XIV., imitating his predecessor, Francis, 
8VH8 the chief instigator of this Turkish invasion of Austria. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 415 

Countries to his daughter Isabella, and her husband the Archduke Al- 
bert; but, as the northern states refused to acknowledge these new rulers, 
the war continued to be prosecuted with vigour both by sea and land. 
Great part of the Portuguese East India trade fell into the hands of the 
Dutch, who had become at least the second maritime state in Europe. 
Prince Maurice of Orange, acknowledged to be the first captain of his 
day, defeated the forces of the archduke near Ostend, 1600; and the 
siege of that city, four years after, cost the Spaniards nearly 70,000 men. 
Spinola, now made commander-in-chief, after two fruitless campaigns, 
at length gave it as his opinion that the conquest of the United Provinces 
was impracticable ; and Philip III. agreed to sign a truce of twelve 
years, 1609. 

Synod of Dort, 1618. — The republic had hardly secured external 
peace, ere it began to be troubled with domestic dissensions ; religion 
being, as elsewhere in this age, the ostensible matter of dispute. The 
disagreements in question arose out of a difference of opinion between 
two professors of divinity at Leyden, Francis Gomar and James Armi- 
nius ; the former of whom maintained the tenets of Calvin in their most 
rigorous form, while the latter advocated a milder system. But this 
religious schism was not unconnected with political motives. The 
Prince of Orange, with the established church and the majority of the 
people, were Gomarists ; the Arminian party was chiefly supported by 
the Grand Pensioner Barneveldt and the higher classes, who suspected 
the ambitious designs of Maurice; and both parties sought, under colour 
of these polemical contests, to forward their respective views. Riots 
and disorders broke out in various places, and the Gomarists loudly 
clamoured for a national synod to settle the differences ; which accord- 
ingly met at Dort in November 1618. This body, as might be expected, 
secured the triumph of the prince and his party : the Arminian preachers 
were banished ; the patriotic Barneveldt, at the age of seventy-two, was 
brought to the block, Grotius and others were thrown into prison, and 
their followers were in general treated with great cruelty and injustice. 

The decisions of this assembly excited the utmost horror and disgust 
throughout Protestant Europe ; and the reaction in Holland itself might 
have proved fatal to the ascendency of Maurice, had not the resumption 
of hostilities with Spain rendered his military services indispensable to 
the safety of the republic, 1621. The prince was opposed to his old 
rival, Spinola, and conducted the warlike operations with great skill till 
his death in 1625. Frederick Henry succeeded to all his brother's 
titles and employments, and commenced his career by exercising various 
acts of clemency in favour of the persecuted Arminians, while he nobly 
sustained in the field the high military reputation of his family. His 
son, William II., became stadtholder in 1647; and, in the following 
year, this long contest was brought to a termination. By a treaty signed 
at Munster, Spain fully recognised the independence of the United Pro- 
vinces, and abandoned all the places she possessed in Brabant and 
Flanders. Ever regardful of commercial interests, the Dutch insisted 
upon closing the Scheldt, by which Antwerp was ruined and the com- 
merce of the remaining Spanish provinces excluded fiom the sea. 

After a brief and inglorious rule, distinguished merely by an abortive 
attempt to render his power absolute, William II. died in 1650, leaving 
the state without a stadtholder and the army without a chief. The birth 



416 . MODERN HISTORY. 

of a son by the widowed princess, a week after, did not prevent a resump- 
tion of most of the sovereign prerogatives by the people; and the direc- 
tion of the military force now devolved on the states-general. About 
this time the English parliament passed the celebrated Navigation Act, 
which, though expressed" in general terms, was specially directed against 
the commerce of Holland, and gave rise to a sanguinary naval war be- 
tween the two republics, in which Van Tromp and De Ruyter were 
compelled to yield to Blake, Dean, and Monk, 1652, 1654. In the paci- 
fication which followed, the Dutch, besides consenting to strike their 
flag to the English, were compelled to promise that neither the infant 
Prince of Orange nor any of his family should ever be elevated to the 
dignity of stadtholder. In 1661, after the restoration of Charles II., the 
national jealousy of Holland, and the cupidity of the monarch, again 
plunged the two countries into war. The Pensioner De Witt, who now 
directed the affairs of the republic, foreseeing the designs of England, 
had formed an alliance with France; several desperate sea-fights took 
place, with varied success; in 1665, Admiral Opdam was totally de- 
feated by the Duke of York, while, in 1667, a Dutch fleet sailed up the 
Thames, and burned several ships of war at Chatham. The treaty of 
Breda, concluded the same year, at length terminated this absurd and 
fruitless war. 

The general alarm excited by the invasion of Louis XIV. in 1672, 
effected an immediate revolution in Holland. In a paroxysm of popular 
phrensy, the great and good De Witt and his brother were torn to pieces, 
and William III., now twenty-two years of age, and conspicuous for 
the abilities which had distinguished his race, was raised to his father's 
dignities, with even greater powers. The heroic defence conducted by 
the young prince has already been noticed under the head of France. 
Peace was restored by the treaty of Nimeguen, 1678; and, in 1689, 
William, who was nephew of James II., and the husband of his daugh- 
ter Mary, became King of England, and brought the great resources of 
his new sovereignty to restrain the renewed encroachments of the French 
monarch. 

DENMARK. 

Christian IV., 1588, reigned several years in profound tranquillity; 
but his warlike disposition displayed itself in a contest with vSweden 
about the right to the barren soil of Lapland, 1611-1613. For some 
time after the conclusion of peace, the king applied his talents to pro- 
mote the commercial interests of his country ; but, in 1625, he was in- 
duced to put himself at the head of the Protestant league for the rein- 
statement of the elector-palatine. After some temporary successes, the 
fortune of war turned so decidedly against him, that he was obliged to 
sign a humiliating peace, 1629. During the course of hostilities in 
Germany, terminated by the treaty of Westphalia, certain unfriendly 
demonstrations on the part of this king led to a contest with Sweden. 
In a naval engagement near the Isle of Laaland, the combined Swedish 
and Dutch fleets defeated his armament with great loss, 1644 ; and next 
year, after some farther operations by land, "a peace was concluded, 
exempting Sweden from the payment of the Sound dues, and securing 
other important advantages to that country. 

Frederick III., 1618, engaged in a contest with Sweden, whose 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 417 

sovereign, Charles Gustavus, invaded and overran his dominions ; and 
he was at length forced, hy the treaty of Copenhagen, 1660, to cede 
several important districts. He was consoled for these reverses by an 
act of the three estates of the realm, who, in the same year, proclaimed 
him and his successors absolute sovereigns of Denmark, and established 
the fundamental law of settlement which still prevails. Christian V. 
succeeded his father in 1670, and shortly after joined in a league against 
the Swedes, which led to a sanguinary war, the rival princes frequently 
heading their troops in person. The treaty of Fontainebleau, 1679, led 
to the re-establishment of peace; and, in 1689, the convention of Altona 
settled a long-pending dispute between Denmark and the Duke of Hol- 
stein. During this reign, a West India Company was established, and 
settlements made in the West Indies and Tranquebar in Hindostan, 
while the attention of the monarch to manufactures and commerce, and 
the improvement effected by him in the condition of the humbler classes, 
contributed even more than his military talents to render him the idol 
of his people. Frederick IV., 1699, renewed hostilities with Sweden, 
which were brought to a successful close by the peace of Stockholm, 
1720, — the claim of Denmark to the sovereignty of Sleswick being fully 
recognised, and the right of exemption from the Sound dues abandoned 
by the others. 

SWEDEN. 

Charles IX. expired in 1611, leaving the sceptre to his son, Gustavus 
Adolpiius, then only seventeen years of age. A war with Denmark, in 
which his father had been engaged, w r as terminated by the young prince 
in 1613 at Knaerod, to the satisfaction of both parties. Meanwhile, he 
restored the exhausted finances, filled his ports with ships, disciplined 
the army, and already gave promise of the highest political and military 
genius. The deposed monarch, Sigismund of Poland, had not ventured, 
during the lifetime of his uncle, to disturb the settlement in Sweden ; 
but the inexperience of the youthful ruler encouraged him to renew his 
claims on the crown. He accordingly invaded the country in behalf of 
his son Ladislaus, then a minor; but this war only served to develop the 
great talents of Gustavus and the bravery and attachment of his people. 
He defeated the Czar of Russia, who had taken up arms as the ally of 
his rival, and also Sigismund himself; and at length, by the mediation 
of England and Holland, a peace w r as concluded in 1629, by which the 
right of the young monarch was secured, and the important town of 
Riga, with great part of Livonia, annexed to his territory. The high 
character acquired by Gustavus in these operations now fixed the atten- 
tion of Europe ; and the persecuted Protestants of Germany looked to 
him eagerly for support and protection. He had a rational attachment 
for the reformed doctrine, and regarded with horror the atrocious cruel- 
ties inflicted on its professors in Bohemia ; while the arrogant ambition 
of Ferdinand, who did not conceal his intention of subjugating Scandi- 
navia itself, added the motive of personal interest to his dislike to the 
house of Austria. He accordingly put himself at the head of the Lu- 
therans, 1630, and began that career of victory which has been noticed 
under Germany, terminated by the battle of Lutzen, 1632, where he fell 
at the very moment when the army of the empire recoiled before the 
valour of his troops. 



418 MODERN HISTORY. 

The crQ\vn now devolved on his daughter Christiana, a child five 
years of age. During her minority, the government was administered 
by a regency, at the head of which was the Chancellor Oxenstiern, an 
experienced and enlightened statesman, by whom the war in Germany 
was carried on sixteen years longer. The queen took affairs into her 
own hands in 1644, when she speedily brought the hostilities with Den- 
mark to a successful termination, and, though contrary to the wishes of 
her minister and others, pressed on a peace with the emperor. She 
eventually became a chief party in the treaty of Westphalia, 1648, by 
which, in consequence of the victories of her troops, she received several 
millions of dollars, the cession of Pomerania, Bremen, Verden, and Wis- 
mar, and three votes in the Germanic diet. The character of this prin- 
cess is one of the most extraordinary on record : she possessed but little 
of the gentler qualities of her sex, affecting the society of scholars and 
learned men, and displaying almost a mania for the collection of books, 
medals, and philosophical instruments. Grotius, Descartes, the fore- 
runner of the modern philosophy, as also D'Herbelot and Bochart, dis- 
tinguished for their oriental studies, experienced her protection. In her 
twenty-eighth year, with the wish, apparently, of indulging her tastes 
or caprices at perfect liberty, she formed the singular resolution of re- 
signing her crown and retiring into private life ; and this event took place 
with great solemnity in May 1654, her cousin Charles Gustavus be- 
coming her successor by the title of Charles X. 

The Swedes were now gradually losing much of their warlike cha- 
racter, and, with the view of sustaining the military reputation of his 
kingdom, the new monarch, after putting the finances in a better condi- 
tion, resolved on a war with Poland, the sovereign of which had 
offended him by a reassertion of his right to the Swedish throne. At 
the head of the veteran bands of Adolphus, he rapidly overran that coun- 
try, the terrified Casimir being compelled to take flight; but the Poles, 
aided by Russia, speedily rallied in defence of their national independ- 
ence. Frederick III. of Denmark having at the same time taken up 
arms against him, Charles effected a retreat through Pomerania, invaded 
Holstein, and speedily subdued the whole peninsula of Jutland. The 
Dane was forced to conclude a humiliating peace at Roskilde, 1658 ; but 
Charles, who seems to have been bent on the entire subjugation of that 
country, '.gain invaded it in the following year. In the midst of these 
ambitious schemes, however, he was suddenly cut off, 1660, leaving the 
throne to his son Charles XL, then a minor. Peace was now con- 
cluded on all hands : that of Oliva terminated the feud between the Ca- 
tholic and Protestant branches of the house of Vassa; the negotiation 
of Kardis put an end to the war with Russia ; while the contest with 
Denmark was closed by the treaty of Copenhagen, which mainly con- 
firmed the previous conditions of 1658. On attaining majority, Charles 
became a member of the triple alliance for restraining the encroachments 
of Louis XIV. ; but being speedily detached from it by the intrigues of 
the latter monarch, he found himself again involved in a war with Den 
mark and with Holland, which was terminated in 1679, by the compact 
at Fontainebleau, the Swedish monarch receiving in marriage the 
Danish Princess Ulrica Eleanora. Charles now applied himself to 
the internal affairs of his government, reforming the abuses which had 
crept into the administration, and adjusting the imposts and burdens to 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A . D. 419 

which so long a period of military conflict had subjected the people. 
Some of these measures gave great offence to the nobility, and they 
attempted to remonstrate against them ; but their opposition only tended 
to hasten the downfall of the aristocratic order, an act being passed by 
the states in 1693 declaring the king absolute.* The remainder of this 
monarch's life was passed in the praiseworthy endeavour to establish 
peace in Europe, the congress of Ryswick being brought about in a 
great degree by his mediation. He was succeeded in 1697, by his son 
Charles XII., the extraordinary events of whose career, however, be- 
long to the next century. 

POLAND. 

The reign of Sigismund III. was a uniform succession of errors, re- 
sulting from the intense religious bigotry which he carried into all his 
transactions. Taking advantage of troubles in Russia, his general Zol- 
kiewski invaded that country, and succeeded in having his son Ladislaus 
proclaimed czar, 1610; but the Polish monarch having refused to ratify 
the liberal conditions then granted, the Muscovites flew to arms and ex- 
pelled the invaders, allowing them, however, to retain Smolensk and 
other provinces, 1618. When the Bohemian insurrection broke out, 
which paved the way for the thirty years' war, he naturally sided with 
Austria, sending a force into Hungary against the Prince of Transylva- 
nia ; but this interference involved Poland in hostilities with Turkey, in 
which General Zolkiewski was slain, 1620. In a peace concluded the 
following year, Moldavia was ceded to the Moslem; while the war with 
Sweden, carried on with little interruption since 1618, was terminated 
by the cession of Livonia to that country, 1629. The reign of this sove- 
reign sowed the seeds of future calamities for Poland : the free spirit of 
the Reformation was stifled by his intrigues ; the adherents of the Greek 
church, numerous in the south-eastern provinces, were exposed to much 
persecution ; and the best interests of the country sacrificed to the endea- 
vour, in which he was sufficiently successful, of establishing the absolute 
ascendency of Popery. Ladislaus IV., 1632, was elected without oppo- 
sition. Immediately after his coronation, he took arms against the 
Muscovites, who had invaded his frontiers, defeated them in battle, and 
reduced .several towns. These successes led to a treaty in 1634, by 
which the terms of the truce in 1618 were confirmed ; peace was also 
concluded with the Turks, and the suspension of hostilities with Sweden 
prolonged for twenty-six years. The country, therefore, enjoyed tran- 
quillity during the remainder of his reign, while his virtuous and en- 
lightened character, and aversion to religious intolerance, seemed to 
promise a settlement of intestine disorders. 

But the Jesuits had become too firmly established during the long 
administration of his father, to enable him to put a stop to their persecu- 
tion of the followers of the Eastern church ; and the results of this un- 
happy circumstance were soon apparent in an insurrection which broke 

* It is a striking fact, that both in Sweden and Denmark the legal establishment of 
despotism was brought about by the deliberate suffrages of the people stimulated by a 
hatred of the aristocracy. Tn each country the tyranny of this class seems to have been 
carried to the highest pitch, the burghers and peasants being little better than slaves ; 
and there can be no doubt that these changes, though different from the course pursued 
in constitutional states, really contributed to the improvement and happiness of tho 
people at large. 



420 MODERN HISTORY. 

out among the Cossacks of the Ukraine a short time before his death, 
1648.* Under his brother and successor, John Casimir, this rebellion 
raged with increased fury, the Cossacks, aided by the Tartars of the 
Crimea, committing great ravages in his dominions; and in 1654 Alexis 
of Muscovy sent a numerous army to their assistance. In the midst of 
these troubles the king had been so foolish as to protest at Stockholm 
against the right of Charles Gustavus to the Swedish crown; and that 
prince, who only wanted a pretext for invading Poland, and being more- 
over encouraged by some discontented noblemen, speedily made himself 
master of the distracted country, the king being forced to take refuge in 
Silesia. This acquisition might have been permanent, but for the arro- 
gance of Charles, who, affecting to hold the territory by right of con- 
quest, refused to convoke the diet for his election. In consequence, the 
people exerted themselves vigorously for the restoration of their monarch ; 
and the Czar of Muscovy having concluded a truce with them, the 
Swedes were compelled to evacuate the country. The Elector of Bran- 
denburg, who had at first aided this invasion, now made terms with 
John, and turned his arms against his former allies ; in return for which 
he was declared independent of the Polish crown, 1657. Peace was at 
length confirmed in 1660, by which the king resigned his claims on 
Sweden, and matters otherwise were placed on the same footing as be- 
fore the war. 

Meanwhile, the Cossacks had returned to their duty on receiving- 
ample guarantees for their religious and political liberties ; and the 
hostilities with Muscovy, renewed in 1658, were terminated in 1667 by 
a treaty which deprived Poland of the acquisitions she had made during 
the reign of Sigismund. This was one of the most unfortunate epochs 
in the history of that country : incessant war and pestilence depopulated 
the land, and thousands were driven into exile by a fanatical persecution. 
John Casimir having abdicated in 1668, was succeeded by Michael, 
prince Wisniowietzki, who was reluctantly compelled to accept the 
crown, and whose reign was constantly disturbed by faction. f The 
Turks at this time invaded Poland with an immense army; and, not- 
withstanding prodigies of valour and military skill performed by the 
heroic John Sobieski, they succeeded in obtaining possession of the 
Ukraine, with the promise, besides, of an annual tribute of 22,0130 ducats, 
1672. The diet were indignant at these humiliating conditions; the 
war still continued ; and, in 1673, Sobieski gained a brilliant victory at 
Choczim. Michael died the following year, and the gallant leader, who 
had stept in for the salvation of the country, was unanimously elected 
his successor, by the title of John III. This truly great man now set 



*This people were of Scythian origin, and dvvplt on both sides of the Dnieper, below 
Kiev, where, distributed into military companies under a hetmann or commander-in- 
chief, they had served Poland as a frontier guard against the Turks and Tartars. 

t The throne of Poland was indeed no very desirable possession : the turbulent and 
factious character of the nobles, the almost independent .jurisdiction they possessed in 
their respective estates, and the rivalry of the different orders, rendered the royal 
authority little better than nominal, while the great mass of the people were exposed to 
all the evils of feudal oppression and anarchy. At each recurring vacancy of the throne, 
the electoral diets became more ungovernable : the nobles assembled, armed and on 
horseback, in the order of their palatinates, and each king was compelled to grant new 
immunities to the privileged classes; and thus, with a show of liberty, the country 
actually suffered under evils more intolerable than could have been inflicted by the worst 
hereditary despotism. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 421 

himself to complete the work he had begun; by extraordinary exertions, 
he contrived to augment the military force, and, in a series of brilliant 
achievements, succeeded in reconquering two-thirds of the Ukraine, 
1676. In 1683, he riveted the attention of all Europe by the total defeat 
given to the enemies of Christendom under the walls of Vienna, — a blow 
from which the Ottomans never altogether recovered. But these efforts 
served but to throw a temporary splendour over the waning destinies of 
Poland. All the exertions made by him for the internal improvement 
of his kingdom were frustrated by the turbulent nobility, by means of 
the veto which each possessed, and whereby the most useful measures 
could be opposed by the dissent of a single chief. The treaty of Leopol, 
1686, by which the aid of Russia was secured against the Turks and 
Tartars, was only purchased by considerable cessions of territory ; and 
at the close of a stormy diet in 1688, he confessed with tears in his eyes 
his inability to save his country from the ruin which he foresaw was but 
too surely overtaking her. He died in 1696, and with him the greatness 
of his native land may be said to have ended. 

RUSSIA. ' 

During the preceding centuries, this hitherto barbarous empire had 
acted a very unimportant part in European politics. In 1605, during 
the reign of Boris, an individual assuming to be the late king's brother 
Demetrius, who had been assassinated, as was supposed, by the conni- 
vance of the existing monarch, succeeded in seating himself on the 
throne. But he was himself slain in a popular tumult a year after, 
when various pretenders and impostors aspired to the sovereignty ; the 
Swedes and Poles simultaneously invaded the country, and the latter 
actually succeeded in placing the crown on the head of their young 
prince Ladislaus, 1610. But the bigotry of the Polish ruler, who refused 
to confirm the conditions by which his son had gained this elevation, 
and the dread that their territories would be seized, roused the national 
spirit of the Russians; the invaders were expelled from Moscow, after a 
sanguinary conflict, 1613 ; and, in the year following, Michael Roma- 
nof, a descendant by the female line from the house of Rurik, was placed 
on the throne by the unanimous consent of the whole people. 

The accession of this dynasty was the true commencement of the 
European greatness of Russia, which henceforth began to assume a 
growing importance among the monarchies of Christendom. Michael, 
however, was obliged to purchase peace from Sweden by the cession of 
the whole of the Baltic coast, Archangel on the White Sea being now 
his only port; while Smolensk was delivered to Poland as the price of 
a fourteen years' truce, 1618, and which was again ceded in 1634, after 
a fruitless effort to recover it by force of arms. But the prudent admi- 
nistration of this prince more than compensated for these serious losses: 
he erected fortresses, invited foreign officers to enter his service, formed 
his army upon the European model, and gave a new impulse to trade by 
concluding advantageous treaties with France and England. The early 
years of his son and successor, Alexis, 1645, were disturbed by an in- 
surrection of the nobles, in consequence of the unpopularity of the regent ; 
but these disorders were composed when the prince attained majority, 
1648. In 1654, he aided the Ukraine Cossacks in their revolt against 



422 MODERN HISTORY. 

Poland ; and, by the truce of Wilna, 1656, succeeded in recovering 
Smolensk from that country ; while a renewal of the contest ended by 
securing to him additional advantages, 1686. Meanwhile the internal 
peace of his dominions was disturbed by seditions arising from various 
causes ; and in 1667, a revolt of the Don Cossacks, under a chief named 
Razin, threatened the dismemberment of the empire. Having proclaimed 
liberty to the serfs, immense numbers flocked to the rebel standard, and 
their leader, seizing on Astracan, assumed the style of an independent 
sovereign ; but he was at length defeated and put to death, along with 
many of his followers. The remainder of the reign of Alexis was de- 
voted to improving the condition of his subjects. He promulgated a 
revised code of laws, established manufactories of linen, silk, and iron, 
and endeavoured to open a communication with China. He was suc- 
ceeded by his eldest son Theodore, 1676, whose short reign is chiefly 
remarkable for the first war between Russia and the Ottomans, which 
terminated in 168*2 by the final cession of the Ukraine to the former. 

In 1689, Peter, surnamed the Great, a younger son of Alexis, and 
then seventeen years of age, became sole monarch, his brother Ivan, 
who had been proclaimed along with him, being set aside from incapa- 
city. The first exertions of this prince were directed to the disciplining 
of the army and the improvement of his resources; and in 1691, he took 
Azof from the Turks, aided by a flotilla on. the Don, which was the first 
Russian navy. Three years after, he quitted his dominions, and travelled 
through Holland, England, and other countries, with the view of gaining 
a knowledge of shipbuilding and mechanical science, and engaging 
artisans to aid him in the great designs he had already begun to form. 

OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 

The Turkish power, though manifestly declining, was still very for- 
midable. The janissaries were at once the cause of its strength and its 
weakness, for this irregular but warlike militia usurped over the throne 
an authority equalling that possessed in Rome by the praetorian guards. 
Five successive sultans reigned during the first half of this century, and 
with two exceptions, Osman and Murad, were sunk, during their short 
periods of authority, in pleasure and sensual indulgence. Achmet, 1603, 
was succeeded by Mustapha in 1617; and he being next year deposed 
by the janissaries, gave place to Osman, who, when defeated by the 
Poles in 1621, was strangled a year after by his merciless troops. Mus- 
tapha was again restored, only to suffer the same fate in 1623; and his 
successor Murad, a warlike prince, who conquered Bagdad from the 
Persians, 1638, was sacrificed soon afterwards. The next sovereign, 
Ibrahim, was equally unfortunate, being in turn strangled in 1648. 
Three years before this event, a rich Turkish vessel, that had put into a 
Candian port, was captured by Maltese cruisers ; and Ibrahim conse- 
quently commenced hostilities against Venice, which were continued by 
his abler and more fortunate successor, Mohammed IV. Twenty-three 
languid campaigns, however, elapsed before the contest was brought to 
a consummation by the siege of the capital of Candia, 1667. On its 
capitulation, two years after, only 2500 survived of the original garrison 
of 30,000 men, while the loss to the besiegers amounted to 1 18,000. 
This conquest was mainly- due to the famous vizier, Achmet Kouprili. 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 423 

The reign of Mohammed presents little else than one unvaried series 
of wars, of which that in Hungary proved in the end most disastrous to 
the Ottomans. In 1672, he accepted the sovereignty of the Cossacks, 
and maintained it against Poland, but was forced to resign it to Russia 
in 1682. A powerful league formed between Austria, Poland, Russia, 
and Venice, followed upon the defeat of the Turkish forces under the 
walls of Vienna by John Sobieski ; and in 1687, they were again van- 
quished at Mohacz, and finally driven out of Hungary with immense 
loss, while great part of Southern Greece became the possession of Ve- 
nice. Mohammed having been deposed in 1687, was succeeded by 
Soliman III., by whom the war was continued, the fortress of Belgrade 
twice changing masters, but remaining finally in the hands of the Turks. 
Under Achmet II., 1691, the fortress of Great Waradein surrendered to 
the Austrians: and his successor, Mustapha II., 1695, after being forced 
to yield the town of Azof to Russia, sustained a final overthrow from 
Prince Eugene of Savoy at Zenta, 1697. The treaty of Carlowitz, 1699, 
at length terminated this disastrous war, and completed the humiliation 
of the Porte; Transylvania, Sclavonia, and Hungary, were preserved 
to the emperor; Podolia, with part of the Ukraine, remained in the 
possession of Poland ; Russia retained her conquests on the Black Sea; 
and the Morea was ceded to Venice. 

THE EAST. 

Persia. — The great Shah Abbas was succeeded by his grandson 
Saffi, a sanguinary tyrant, who reigned from 1627 to 1641, under whom 
Persia lost the acquisitions gained from Turkey by his predecessor. 
The rule of the two next monarchs, Abbas II., 1641, and Saffi II., 1666, 
was uniformly peaceful, and the arts and commerce flourished ; but the 
court was enervated by luxury, and the martial spirit of the people suf- 
fered from inaction. In 1694, Hussein Mirza, a weak and bigoted 
prince, ascended the throne. After reigning nearly twenty years in 
peace, his kingdom was invaded and taken from him by the Afghans 
(i. e. destroyers), a warlike people on the confines of India, he himself 
being forced to place the royal diadem on the head of their chief Mah- 
moud, 1722. 

China. — The Mongols, who had been expelled from China by the 
founder of the Ming dynasty, took refuge among the Tartars of the north- 
east ; and this union eventually gave rise to the Mantchoos, who were 
destined at length to expel the native line of princes, and establish a 
permanent dominion. The ability of the earlier monarchs long averted 
this catastrophe, and the seat of government was transferred to Pekin, 
apparently with the view of restraining their encroachments; but the 
usual degeneracy seems to have overtaken their successors, and the 
country becoming involved in great disorders, these warlike enemies, 
first called in to assist in the settlement of internal differences, succeeded 
in seizing the throne for themselves, 1644. Happily for the country, 
however, Chun-tchi, the new Tartar emperor, guided by experienced 
counsellors, showed himself a generous and enlightened monarch, ab- 
staining from all interference with the prejudices of his subjects, and 
exerting himself vigorously for their improvement, His son and suc- 
cessor, Kang-hi, 1661, was one of the most illustrious sovereigns that 



424 MODERN HISTORY. 

ever ruled in China, having been conspicuous for almost every virtue 
Jiat can adorn a throne ; and to his exertions are mainly owing the peace 
and unity which the empire has ever since enjoyed. During this reign, 
the Jesuit missionaries made some progress, being employed by him to 
reform the calendar; but he was afterwards induced to discourage them, 
and is said to have particularly derided the spiritual supremacy claimed 
by their leaders for the Pope. 

Japan. — The islands of Japan were probably settled by the Chinese; 
their rulers, until about 660 b. c, being, so far as the imperfect accounts 
are to be credited, the same as those of that empire. Afterwards, the 
country seems to have been governed by chiefs called Dairis, who united 
in their persons both the spiritual and temporal authority. But all 
offices, public or private, being hereditary, the military commander gra- 
dually obtained so much influence, that, in 1585, he was able to seize 
on the entire power, leaving to the other merely the control of ecclesias- 
tical affairs. Thus Japan has since had two sovereigns, the former 
residing at Jeddo, the latter at Miaco, under whom the country appears 
to have enjoyed a large amount of prosperity and peace. During this 
century, the Roman Catholic religion was introduced by the Portuguese, 
whose intercourse dates from 1541 : at first it made great progress, but 
was eventually rooted out by cruel persecutions, and entirely forbidden. 
The Dutch succeeded in establishing a trade with the natives in 1611; 
and they are now the only Europeans allowed to enter their ports. 

India. — On the death of Akbar in 1605, the Mogul empire descended 
to his son Selim, who assumed the pompous title of " conqueror of the 
world." This designation was certainly anything but appropriate; for 
during his reign the Persians took Candahar, the Usbecks obtained 
possession of Cabul, the Afghans in the north revolted, the Rajpoot 
princes began a struggle for independence, and even his own heir, Shah 
Jehan, rebelled against him. He appears, however, to have been a weak 
rather than a bad ruler, protecting the Hindoos in the exercise of their 
religion, and encouraging literature and the arts. The British East 
India Company, having sent an embassy to his court, obtained from him 
many advantageous grants. His successor, Jehan, 1627, was doomed 
to experience a severe requital for the ingratitude he had displayed to 
him, being dethroned in 1659 by his own son Aurengzebe, who detained 
him in prison till his death. This prince was the last powerful Mogul 
sovereign, having conquered the cities of Golconda, Hydrabad, and 
Bejapore, and extended his rule almost to the limits of the Carnatic. 
His reign, as it had been begun, continued to be distinguished by great 
cruelty; he endeavoured to establish Mohammedanism throughout his 
dominions, by destroying the Hindoo temples and imposing a poll-tax 
on every individual not professing Islaniism. The Mahrattas now began 
to assume importance in India, having succeeded in conquering great 
part of the Deccan ; and though frequently defeated in the low country 
by the troops of Aurengzebe, he was unable to make any permanent 
impression on their mountain territory. Sevajee, the founder of the 
Mahratta sovereignty, was succeeded by his son Sambajee in 1(582, who 
was taken prisoner by the Mogul emperor, 1689, and subjected to a 
cruel death. This monarch was undoubtedly one of the most powerful 
of his day, his revenue being computed by .Major Rennel at more than 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 425 

thirty-two millions sterling, in a country where productions are a fourth 
less in value than in England; hut, after his demise in 1707, the wealth 
and influence of the Moguls rapidly declined. 

COLONIES. 

English. — In 1600, Queen Elizabeth granted a charter of exclusive 
commerce with the East Indies to a company of London merchants, who 
made several profitable voyages, and, in 1611, received permission from 
the government of Delhi to establish factories at Surat, Camoay, and 
other places, though their attempts to obtain a share of the spice trade 
by a settlement at Amboyna were resisted by the Dutch, who even put 
some settlers to death, 1623. In 1624, the company received extensive 
judicial authority, being permitted to try their servants when abroad 
either by civil or martial law ; and, though exposed to considerable 
opposition from the rivalry of other mercantile associations, who at vari- 
ous times acquired permission to infringe the original monopoly, they 
continued steadily to advance, and eventually thwarted all competitors. 
Their first settlement at Madras was formed about 1648, and they ob- 
tained another valuable position on the western coast by the gift of the 
island of Bombay, which formed part of the marriage portion received 
by Charles II. with the Princess Catherine of Portugal, 1668. Seven 
years previously, by a new charter, the company, besides a confirmation 
of all their former privileges, received the further authority to make 
peace or war with any people not being Christians, and to seize all un- 
licensed persons who should be found within their limits, and send them 
to England. In 1664, they first came into hostile collision with a native 
power, having repelled an attack upon Surat by Sevajee, the founder of 
the Mahratta empire ; on which occasion the Mogul expressed his thanks 
for their conduct, and considerably extended their trading privileges. 
Fort William at Calcutta was erected in 1699. 

Many African companies were successively incorporated ; but none 
succeeded in obtaining exclusive privileges. About 1674, the English 
founded on the Guinea Coast the ports of St. James and Sierra Leone. 
Their colonies in the West Indies began to flourish in the early part of 
the century. Private merchants established factories in Barbadoes and 
St. Kitt's in 1625; but little importance was attached to these places 
until the sugar-cane, transplanted from Brazil in 1641, began to be suc- 
cessfully cultivated. The conquest of Jamaica, 1655, opened a new and 
abundant source of wealth to British commerce in those regions. 

On the North American continent, in 1620, the state of Massachusetts 
owed its first settlement to a small body of Presbyterians, who had 
resolved to seek freedom of worship on those distant shores, where, six 
years later, they founded the city of Boston. The increasing persecu- 
tions of the Puritans and Catholics, and the internal convulsions of 
England, drove great numbers across the Atlantic. Rhode Island was 
colonized by the former in 1630; and Maryland, in 1632, by the latter. 
About 1662, Charles II. granted to a body of noblemen the lordship of 
the country now known as Carolina; but the first permanent settlement 
was not made till 1680, on the site of Charleston. The shores of Chesa- 
peake Bay were first occupied by the Swedes; their colony subsequently 
fell into the hands of the Dutch, who finally ceded it to England in 1664 
36* 



42C MODERN HISTORY. 

In 1681, the country was granted to the celebrated William Penn, who 
in the following year founded the city of Philadelphia. By the treaty 
of Utrecht, 1713, Great Britain acquired Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, 
with the entire commerce of Hudson's Bay and the Straits. 

French. — The minister Colbert, whose attention was much directed 
to commerce and maritime speculations, established East and West India 
Companies in 166-1; and between 1685 and 1690, a French settlement 
formed at Pondicherry obtained considerable importance. Their first 
permanent occupation of Canada took place in 1608, on the spot now 
covered by the city of Quebec, where a valuable trade in fish and pel- 
tries was established. 

Spanish. — The immense empire founded by Spain in the New World 
had now become consolidated, and the wealth derived from the rich 
mines of gold and silver excited the envy of all Europe. During the 
wars of this century, the plate fleets, as they were called, laden with the 
annual tribute of those regions, frequently fell into the hands of the 
Dutch, French, or English cruisers; and the colonies also suffered much 
from the predatory attacks of the Buccaneers, a body of lawless adven- 
turers who established themselves in a small island in the West Indies, 
whence they long continued to be the terror of the Spanish Main. The 
Jesuit missionaries succeeded in acquiring immense influence in South 
America, and made great efforts for the benefit of the natives ; but, in 
general, the condition of the aboriginal population continued to be the 
most miserable that could possibly be conceived. 

Portuguese. — After her separation from Spain, Portugal retained 
little of her East Indian possessions besides Goa and Diu. Her valua- 
ble settlement of Brazil had previously to that period been exposed to 
various attacks, particularly from the Dutch, who, between 1620 and 
1640, under prince John Maurice of Nassau, obtained possession of 
nearly the whole colony; but by the peace of 1660 they subsequently 
resigned all claim to it. About the year 1700, the accidental discovery 
of the rich mines of Villa Rica gave increased importance to this pos- 
session. 

Dutch. — In 1650, the Dutch seized on the Cape of Good Hope, 
where they founded the capital Cape Town; and in 1656, they drove 
the Portuguese out of Colombo, a valuable settlement in Ceylon, de- 
priving them of the principal seat of the pearl-fishery. In 1605, they had 
wrested from the same people the possession of the Moluccas or Spice 
Islands, and continued to maintain them against all competitors ; and 
their colony of Surinam in South America, founded about 1590, became 
highly flourishing 

SETTLEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

[The oldest town in the United States is St. Augustine, in Florida, 
having been settled by the Spaniards in 1565, as was related in the his- 
tory of the sixteenth centurv. 

[Gosnold in 1602, Pring' in 1603. and Weymouth in 1605, explored 
the whole New England coast, but failed to make any settlement. The 
first permanent settlement made by the English was that of Jamestown, 
in Virginia, in 1607. The first settlers, 105 in number, were chiefly 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 427 

commercial adventurers. They experienced all the hardships incident 
to their situation, and were several times on the brink of destruction ; 
but were repeatedly rescued by the genius and daring of Captain John 
Smith, one of the most remarkable men in American annals, and justly 
called the father of Virginia. 

[The same year that Jamestown was founded, the Plymouth company 
sent out a hundred emigrants for the purpose of establishing a settlement 
in New England. They effected a landing near Kennebec, in Maine, 
where they remained nearly all winter ; but, discouraged by the hard- 
ships which they had to endure, they abandoned their settlement the 
following year, and returned to England. The Plymouth company 
were unsuccessful in their subsequent efforts to plant a colony under the 
charter they had received, until at length a congregation of English Pu- 
ritans, whom oppression had driven to Holland, formed the resolution 
of seeking the civil and religious liberty which they wished by removing 
in a body to the New World. Having returned to England to make the 
necessary arrangements for their departure, they finally sailed from Ply- 
mouth for the river Hudson, on which they intended to settle; but being 
carried further north, they landed near Cape Cod, December 1620, at a 
place to which, in honour of the port from which they sailed, they gave 
the name of New Plymouth. These emigrants, 101 in number, are 
known in history as the Pilgrim Fathers. They were soon followed 
by others, who, with them, laid the foundation of all the New England 
States. 

[Roger Conant, one of the pilgrims from New Plymouth, with only 
three companions, in 1626 made choice of Salem as the most convenient 
place of refuge for their persecuted brethren in England; and they boldly 
resolved on establishing themselves there as the sentinels of Puritanism. 
They were not long left alone. Endicott joined them in 1628 with a 
company of one hundred Puritans from England ; seven of whom, with 
characteristic enterprise, detached themselves from the rest, and imme- 
diately commenced a new settlement at Charlestown. A company of 
two hundred men, among them Francis Higginson. went over in 1629. 
In the same year the friends of the cause succeeded in getting a new and 
more liberal charter, and, what was more important, in getting the cor- 
poration itself, which had hitherto existed in England, transferred to the 
colony, the members of the corporation becoming the actual colonists. 
The effect of these movements was to direct the attention of the whole 
body of English Puritans to the subject of emigration ; and in the fol- 
lowing year, 1630, no less than seventeen ships, containing fifteen hun- 
dred emigrants, with John Winthrop. at their head, landed at Salem. 
Such was the origin of Massachusetts. The Puritans who settled it 
were men of a superior character to any that had yet come as colonists 
to the shores of America ; a large portion of them gentlemen of fortune 
and education, who sought the New World, not in the spirit of commer- 
cial adventure, but to found a free commonwealth for themselves and 
their posterity. 

[The names of Sir Ferdinand Gorges and Captain John Mason are 
inseparably connected with the history of New Hampshire. Under the 
patent obtained by them, a settlement was commenced on the Piscataqua 
river in the year 1623. The oldest towns built were Portsmouth and 
Dover. The colony was replenished partly by settlers from England 



428 MODERN HISTORY. 

under grants from Mason and Gorges, and partly by emigrants from 
Massachusetts; and suffered probably more than any other, both from In- 
dian hostilities, and from disputes about conflicting titles to the land. 

[On the coast of Maine attempts at a settlement were made very early 
by both the French and English, but without success until 1628, when. 
under the influence of Gorges, a few trading-houses were planted near 
the Penobscot. A charter, with ample proprietary powers, was granted 
to Gorges in 1635, and a general court was held at Saco in 1640. This 
colony, like that of New Hampshire, was early taken under the protec- 
tion of Massachusetts, and suffered greatly from the claims of conflicting 
jurisdictions. 

[Roger Williams, a Puritan divine, illustrious for his political wdsdom 
as well as his benevolence, proclaimed opinions respecting freedom of 
conscience in matters of religion of the most liberal and comprehensive 
character, and, consequently, far in advance of the age in which he lived. 
Being exiled on this account from the colony of Massachusetts, in 1(536 
he retired alone into the recesses of the forest to a place which he called 
Providence, where he was soon after joined by others, and became the 
founder of Rhode Island. 

[Connecticut was settled chiefly by emigrants from the older colonies. 
The people of New Plymouth built a trading-house at Windsor in 1633, 
and settlements were commenced soon after at Hartford and Wethersfield 
by pioneers from Massachusetts. In 1636 a large company from the 
same colony, led by Hooker and Haynes. emigrated to the banks of the 
Connecticut. This emigration was made under authority of a grant ob- 
tained from the proprietaries by the younger Winthrop ; a man so highly 
esteemed in England, that lie was enabled afterwards to obtain for Con- 
necticut the wisest and most liberal of all the charters granted by the 
Stuarts. He may justly be considered the founder of Connecticut, as 
his father was the father of Massachusetts. 

[In 1609, the great navigator Henry Hudson, sailing on a voyage of 
discovejy in the service of the Dutch, entered New York harbour, and 
the noble river which bears his name. Having explored the river as far 
as Albany, he published such an account of these regions, which had 
never before been seen by any European, as led in the following year to 
a voyage for the purpose of traffic with the natives. In 1614, the first 
rude fort was erected on the southern point of Manhattan Island, and in 
Kilo the first permanent settlement at Albany began. The object of the 
Dutch was commerce rather than colonization. Political dissensions at 
home, however, soon caused the emigration of a large number of settlers 
from Holland. The New Netherlands, under its brave governors Wouter 
Van Twiller, William Kieft and Peter Stuyvesant, continued for half a 
century to be a thriving and important colony of the Dutch West India 
Company. In 1664, however, it passed into the hands of the English, 
and has since been known by its present name of New York. 

[The first settlement in Delaware appears to have been made by the 
Dutch. Certain wealthy proprietors in Holland, who had purchased of 
the natives the title to the lands around the mouth of the Delaware river 
in 1630 set on foot an expedition for the purpose of taking possession 
of their new territories. De Vries, the conductor of the expedition, 
reached Delaware bay and planted a colony of thirty souls at Lewistown 
in 1631. Gustavus Adolphus, the illustrious king of Sweden, in 162* 






SEVENTEENTH CENTUKY A.D. 429 

projected a plan for colonizing these regions by his own subjects; and 
the commencement of their colony has been generally assigned to that 
year. No actual emigration, however, took place till 1638, when a small 
company of Swedes and Finns entered Delaware bay, and having pur- 
chased from the natives all the land from its mouth to the falls of Trenton, 
built a fort and commenced a settlement on Christiana creek. Emigrants 
multiplied, and Swedish settlements were formed along the Delaware as 
far as Tinicum Island, within a few miles of Philadelphia. They were, 
however, conquered by the Dutch in 1655, and, with the rest of the 
Dutch possessions in North America, passed into the hands of the Eng- 
lish in 1664. 

[William Clayborne, an English surveyor, under license of Charles 
I., formed a trading establishment on Kent Island, in Maryland, as early 
as 1632. The same year Sir George Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, ob- 
tained a royal charter, which, in consequence of his death before the 
patent had passed the great seal, was made out in the name of his son 
Cecil, granting to him and his heirs proprietary rights to the soil of 
Maryland. This charter, which was Avritten by the elder Lord Balti- 
more, was» -onceived in a spirit of moderation and of civil and religious 
toleration much in advance of the age. Under its wise and liberal pro- 
visions, a large body of English Catholics, gentlemen of birth and qua- 
lity, embarked in the enterprise of colonizing Maryland. The first town 
founded by them was St. Mary's, 1634, where their first legislative assem- 
bly was held the following year. They experienced bitter opposition from 
Clayborne, whose establishment was broken up, but continued with 
various success under the proprietary government until the Revolution. 

[In the year 1663, some of the independent planters of Virginia esta- 
blished themselves on Albemarle Sound, and a few hardy sons of New 
England began an infant colony on the banks of Cape Fear River. 
These were the first beginnings of the permanent settlement of the Caro- 
linas. The same year Lord Clarendon obtained for himself and some 
others a charter constituting themselves proprietors of the soil. The 
celebrated Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, and John Locke the 
philosopher, afterwards, in 1669, prepared for this province a constitu- 
tion and frame of government, which, however, never went fully into 
operation. 

[On the surrender of the New Netherlands in 1664, the territory be- 
tween the Hudson and the Delaware was granted, under the name of 
New Jersey, to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, as proprietors. 
Settlements had already been commenced by detached bodies of Swedes, 
Dutch and English. As early as 1664, a few families of Dutch were 
found about Burlington, and of Quakers on Raritan Bay ; and in the 
following year a considerable number of New England Puritans were 
settled at Elizabethtown, ami plantations were begun at Middletown 
and Shrewsbury. Just, ten years later, West Jersey was purchased by 
a company of English Quakers, who immediately made settlements at 
Salem, Burlington, and other places on the Delaware. East and W^est 
Jersey continued divided until 1702, when they were again united into 
one province. 

[Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, who obtained a royal 
charter for the purpose in 1681. Small settlements had already been 
made by the Swedes and Finns. Markham was sent over, therefore, by 



430 MODERN HISTORY. 

the proprietary to take possession of the province, and make preparations 
for settling it on a more extended scale. Perm himself came over in 
1682 with about two thousand settlers, mostly Friends. Having first 
agreed upon a constitution at Chester for the government of his colony, 
including the previous settlements of the Swedes and Finns, having 
concluded his famous treaty with the Indians at Shackamaxon, now 
called Kensington, and having purchased of the Swedes the ground 
occupied by them near the mouths of the Delaware and Schuylkill, Penn 
proceeded to lay out and build the city of Philadelphia according to a 
plan designed by himself before leaving England. Penn's charter con- 
tained the same features of civil and religious liberty which character- 
ized that of Lord Baltimore; and Penn himself was distinguished by a 
liberality of opinions, a moderation of conduct, and a wise political fore- 
cast, which have placed him in the first rank of human legislators. 

[Georgia was founded in the following century, 1732, by a company 
of settlers under the direction of General James Oglethorpe.] 

THE CHURCH. 

The Jansenists. — This sect, which sprung up in the Romish church 
about the middle of the century, owed its origin to Jansenius, a bishop 
of Ypres, who died in 1638, leaving behind him a work entitled Augus- 
tinus, in which he had treated of the opinions of St. Augustine concern- 
ing predestination and grace. Several years after his death some 
Jesuit theologians discovered in his volume five propositions embodying 
principles closely resembling Calvin's doctrine of predestination, and 
which they denounced as heretical. After much discussion, Pope Inno- 
cent X. condemned the same tenets as blasphemous, 1653 ; but various 
learned men, who disliked the Jesuits, undertook to prove that they did 
not, in fact, exist in the work, at least in the sense attributed to them. 
Three years after, however, the book itself was condemned by Alexan- 
der VII. ; while Arnauld, Pascal, and others, from their retreat at Port 
Royal, near Paris, continuing to maintain the orthodoxy of the author, 
received the name of Jansenists. A formula having been afterwards 
drawn up, which all ecclesiastical persons in France were required to 
sign, many refused ; and a schism consequently arose in the Gallican 
church, the followers of Arnauld pointing out various corruptions in dis- 
cipline and morality, and accusing the Jesuits as the cause of them. 
Much controversy arose from these differences ; and the influence of the 
latter body in European affairs gave even a political importance to their 
antagonists. The excitement subsequently died away ; and the monas- 
tery of Port Royal was suppressed by Louis XIV. in 1709. 

An immense number of different bodies arose among the Reformers, 
which it would be tedious even to enumerate. In England, about 1650, 
first appeared the Quakers, at that time regarded as a sect of visionary 
fanatics, and owing their origin to George Fox, a shoemaker. Barclay, 
their great apologist, and William Penn, are, however, to be considered 
the real founders of the society. 

LITERATURE, ARTS, AND SCIENCES. 

England. — The literature of England during this century presents a galaxy 
of great and imperishable names. Bacon, 1626, laid down the principles of the 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 431 

modern or inductive philosophy in his Novum Organon, and thus led the way 
to the great discoveries of Newton and Davy. In the struggles of these times, 
Algernon Sydney, 1683, Hobbes, 1679, and Milton, 1674, are celebrated as the 
defenders of popular principles. The Essay on the Human Understanding by John 
Locke, 1704, still retains the highest rank among metaphysical productions. 
Poetry was illustrated by the names of Waller, 1687, Denham, 1668, Butler, 
1680, Otway, 1685, and Dryden, 1700, to whom the perfection of English ver- 
sification has been ascribed. Milton, the greatest poet of his time, composed 
his Comus before the Civil War; his Allegro and Ptnseroso were written in 
the midst of its contentions ; and, when withdrawn from the political world, 
and even deprived of sight, he produced that imperishable monument of his 
fame, Paradise Lost. Lord Shaftesbury, 1713, and Atterbury, 1732, were cele- 
brated as elegant prose-writers, and Lord Clarendon, 1674, as an historian. 

In 1645, a number of learned men in London, agreeing to meet at stated 
times and communicate their discoveries in science, laid the foundation of the 
Royal Society. Harvey, 1657, first demonstrated the circulation of the blood ; 
and the practice of medicine owed a signal improvement to Sydenham, 1689. 
The steam-engine was invented by the Marquis of Worcester, 1667, and ap- 
plied to practical purposes by Savary, 1696. Drebbel, a Dutch peasant, con- 
structed the thermometer, 1634 ; and the reflecting telescope owes its origin to 
James Gregory, a native of Scotland, 1675. Mathematical science received a 
valuable contribution in the invention of Logarithms, by Baron Napier of 
Merchiston, 1617. 

France. — At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the French language 
was yet unformed. Malherbe, 1628, had just shown how far it was capable of 
strength and elevation in poetry ; and the affected Balzac, 1654, had done the 
same thing for its prose. Both species of composition were brought to maturity 
in the reign of Louis XIV. Corneille, 1684, was the first who elevated the 
literary genius of France by creating its theatre ; Racine, 1699, exalted the 
drama to its highest degree of elegance and dignified expression, though it still 
remained a feeble copy of the Grecian stage. Fenelon, 1715, author of Tele- 
machus, gave to French prose its utmost degree of refinement. Moliere, 1673, 
is still admired in his own peculiar branch of comedy ; as is Lafontaine, 1695, 
for the exquisite simplicity and sly humour of his fables. The pulpit was 
adorned by the eloquence of Bourdaloue, 1704, of Bossuet, 1704, and Massil- 
lon, 1742. Philosophy was successfully cultivated by Des Cartes, 1650, Pascal, 
1662, and Malebranche, 1715. Among the philologers' of the day are found the 
names of Bochart, 1667, Anne Dacier, 1720, and Huet, 1721. Boileau, 1711. 
was celebrated as a critic and satirist ; and Bayle, 1706, the father of free dis- 
cussion in modern times, was conspicuous in the same walk. The French 
school of painting was upheld by the judicious Le Sueur, 1655, and by the cor- 
rect designs of Charles Le Brun, 1690. Sallo, 1669, conducted the first literary 
journal established in Europe ; and Gallois, 1707, assisted in projecting the 
Journal des Savans. The Academie Frangaise owed its origin to Richelieu 
in 1635. 

Italy. — During this century Italian literature and science began to share in 
the degeneracy of the nation, although in the first part of it their painters were 
still the most celebrated in Europe. We recognise the name of one original 
prose-writer, Caracciolus, marquis of Vico, 1744; and the historians Sarpi, 
1623 ; Davila, 1631 ; and Bentivoglio, 1644. Poetry was much disfigured by 
euphuism and affectation in Marini, 1625 ; and Tassoni, 1635. Painting was 
illustrated by the delicate and beautiful pencil of Guido, 1642; Albano, 1660, 
celebrated for the grace of his figures ; Domenichino, 1641, whose correct and 
lively designs have been much admired ; and Salvator Rosa, 1673, conspicuous 
for the wild and gloomy magnificence infused into his conceptions. Modern 
astronomy and physics owe a debt of gratitude to the celebrated Galileo, 1642, 
who demonstrated the truth of the Copernican philosophy, by discovering the 
motions of the planets, and he is also known as the inventor of the pendulum ; 
the barometer owes its invention to his pupil Torricelli, 1647; and Cassini, 
1712. was renowned for his astronomical discoveries. . 



132 MODERN HISTORY. 

Spain. — The literature of Spain presents no celebrated names beyond those 
mentioned in the last century ; Lope de Vega, Cervantes, and Calderon, being 
still iis chief writers. Murillo, 1682, and Alfaro, 1680, were conspicuous as 
painters. 

Germany. — Notwithstanding the appearance of several eminent writers, Ger- 
many as yet showed few indications of the high literary and scientific renown 
which she" has since attained. In philosophy and politics, there were Conring, 
1681 ; Puffendorf, 1694; and Leibnitz, 1716: in poetry, Opitz, 1639; Balde, 
1668 ; Canitz, 1699. Bauer, 1640, was celebrated as a painter and engraver ; 
Sandrart, 1688, was favourably known for historical pieces; Lely, 1680, and 
Kneller, 1723, both of whom died in London, were eminent portrait painters. 
In addition to the valuable contributions to science of Kepler and Tycho Brahe, 
mentioned in the last century, may be noticed the important invention of the 
air-pump by Otto Guerike, 1686 ; and Glauber, 1668, famed for his chemical 
investigations, and in particular for the discovery of the salt which bears his 
name. 

Holland. — In this century, Holland gave birth to Spinosa, 1677, a cele- 
brated sceptic, and to Grotius, 1645, who gave a scientific form to morals, and 
demonstrated iheir application alike to social and individual man. The depart- 
ment of philology was illustrated by a number of eminent writers, among whom 
may be mentioned Voss, 1649 ; Heinsius, 1655 ; Schrevelius, 1667 ; and Go- 
lius, 1667. In Flanders was formed that celebrated school of painting from 
which emanated the masterly productions of Rubens, 1640; Vandyck, 1641 ; 
Rembrandt, 1674; and the two Teniers, 1649 and 1694. Mathematical science 
was cultivated by Ludolph of Cologne, 1610 ; physiology by Wale, 1640, and 
Sylvius, 1672; and Huygens, 1695, is eminent for his improvements on the 
telescope, and for the invention of the pendulum clock. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 

Great Britain. — 1700, Act of Succession. — 1702, Anne. — 1707, Scottish 
Union. — 1704, Victory of Blenheim; Gibraltar taken. — 1706, Ramillies ; 
1708, Oudenarde ; 1709, Malplaquet. — 1714, House of Brunswick ; George 
I.— 1715, 1745, Scottish Rebellions.— 1716, Septennial Act.— 1718, Quadru- 
ple Alliance. — 1720, South Sea Bubble; Walpole. — 1743, Victory at Det- 
tingen. — 1748, Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. — 1759, Conquest of Canada. — 
1763, John Wilkes ; American War ; ended 1783 ; Fox and Pitt. — Naval 
Victories of Howe, 1794 ; Duncan and Jervis, 1797 ; Nelson, 1798. — 1798, 
Irish Rebellion. 

France. — 1700, War of Spanish Succession. — 1715, The Regency of Orleans. 
—1718, Mississippi Scheme. — 1733, War of Polish Succession. — 1740, War 
of Austrian Succession. — 1756, Seven Years' War. — 1764, Jesuits sup- 
pressed. — 1774, Louis XVI. — 1789, States-General. — Revolution: 1793, 
King beheaded. — 1794, The Directory. — 1798, Egyptian Expedition. — 1799, 
Consulate ; Bonaparte. 

Spain.— 1700, Philip V. of Anjou ; Cardinal Alberoni.— 1746, Ferdinand IV. 
—1761, Family Compact.— 1788, Charles IV. 

Portugal. — 1703, Methuen Treaty. — 1706, John V. — 1714, Portuguese Aca- 
demy.— 1750. Joseph I. ; Marquis of Pombal. — 1755, Earthquake at Lisbon 
— 1758, Jesuits expelled. 

Italy. — Victor Amadeus II. of Sardinia. — 1737, Francis of Lorraine, grand 
duke of Tuscany. — 1767, Jesuits expelled from Sicily. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 433 

Germany.— 1705, Joseph I.— 1711, Charles VI.— 1724, Pragmatic Sanction.— 
1740, Maria Theresa ; War of the Austrian Succession.— 1748, Treaty of 
Aix-la-Chapelle. — 1763, Treaty of Paris.— 1777, Bavarian Succession; 
1779, Peace of Teschen.— 1780, Joseph II.— 1792, Francis II.— 1797, Treaty 
of Campo Forrnio. 

Holland. — 1713, Peace of Utrecht.— 1747, William IV.— 1751, Regency.— 
1787, Revolution ; William V.— 1795, Batavian Republic. 

Denmark.— Frederick IV.— 1720, Peace of Stockholm.— 1746, Frederick V. ; 
Bernstorf. — 1766, Christian VII.; Affranchisement of Serfs. — Struensee 
beheaded, 1772. 

Sweden. — 1700, Charles XII.— 1709.— Defeat at Pultowa.— 1738, Factions of 
Hats and Caps.— 1771, Gustavus III.— 1792, Gustavus IV. 

Poland. — 1697, Augustus II. — 1763, Stanislaus Poniatowski. — Religious 
Quarrels.— Partitions, 1772, 1793, 1795. 

Prussia.— 1701, Frederick I.— 1740, Frederick II.— 1756, Seven Years' War. 
—1786, Frederick William III. ; War with France. 

Russia. — Peter the Great. — 1700, Defeat of Narva. — 1725, Catherine I. — 
1762, Catherine II. ; Turkish War. 

Turkey.— 1715, War with Venice.— 1718, Treaty of Passarowitz.— 1730, Re- 
volution ; Mahmoud I. — Treaties of Kainardge, 1774; of Jassy, 1792. 

Persia. — 1727, Nadir Shah. — 1738, Invasion of Hindostan ; Kingdoms of 
Cabul and Candahar.— 1797, Futteh Ali. 

India. — 1707, Sikh Wars. — 1756, Black Hole of Calcutta. — 1757, Battle of 
Plassey.— 1766, Hyder Ali ; Warren Hastings.— 1799, Tippoo Saib killed. 

United States. — 1773, Disturbances at Boston; War of Independence. — 
1777, Burgoyne capitulates. — 1783, Independence recognised by England. — 
1787, Federal Constitution. 

Hayti. — 1794, Rebellion of Slaves ; Toussaint l'Ouverture. 

Church. — 1773, Suppression of Jesuits. — 1793, Abolition of Religious Worship 
in France. — 1740, Methodists in England. 

Discoveries, &c— 1720, Fahrenheit's Thermometer; Reaumur, 1731.— 1713, 
Ruins of Herculaneum.— 1750, Ruins of Pompeii. — 1759, Eddystone Light- 
house built; Lewenhoek's Microscope.— 1781, Planet Herschel.— 1783, Air 
Balloon by Montgolfier ; Lightning Conductors. — 1791, Galvanism; Gal- 
vanic Battery. — 1794-1798, Vaccination. 

GREAT BRITAIN. 

Act of Succession. — William and his sister-in-law Anne being both 
childless, parliament in 1700 passed the famous Act of Succession, by 
which the crown, failing them, was settled upon the next Protestant 
heir, Sophia, duchess of Hanover, daughter of Elizabeth, eldest daughter 
of James I. About this time the causes of a new war arose out of cer- 
tain disputes as to the inheritance of the crown of Spain, which had been 
left by the will of the last monarch to the grandson of Louis XIV.; and 
England, Holland, and the Empire, accordingly became parties to a 
Grand Alliance, as it was called, having in view the preservation 
of the balance of power in Europe, supposed to be endangered by this 
arrangement. In 1701, James II. died in France, leaving his pretensions 
37 



434 MODERN HISTORY. 

to his son of the same name;* and Louis, in spite of the treaty of Rys- 
wick, immediately recognised this young prince as King of Great 
Britain, thereby adding materially to the hostile feelings which animated 
William and his peoole. War was accordingly in preparation when the 
latter sovereign died in 1702, in consequrnee of a fall from his horse. 
His reign is remarkable for the commencement of the national debt, and 
for the lirst le<_ral support of a standing army. Banks for the deposit of 
money and the issue of a paper currency were also first established in 
his time; the Bank of England having been incorporated in 1694, and 
that of Scotland in the following year. 

Queen Anne, 1702. — This princess, who was the second daughter of 
James II., had married Prince George of Denmark in 1083, by whom 
«he had several children, though none of them lived to maturity. On 
her accession to the crown, she found it necessary to maintain her place 
in the Grand Alliance; and the Duke of Marlborough was sent to the 
Continent with a large army to prosecute the designs of the confederates. 
In Germany and Flanders, under this able commander, the British army 
achieved some signal successes, particularly at Blenheim, 1704. and 
Ramillies, 1706; while a smaller force in Spain, under the chivalrous 
Earl of Peterborough, performed important services, the strong fortress 
of Gibraltar, the key of the Mediterranean, also falling into the hands 
of Britain, 1704. The war, however, was one in which the country had 
little real interest, and the Tory party, in 1706, attempted to bring it to 
an end ; but Marlborough, who found his account in its continuance, 
succeeded in averting a treaty for some years. 

Treatv of Union, 1707. — The Scottish nation had been deep.y in- 
censed by the fate of their Darien expedition, and being now intent on 
a fair participation of trade, their parliament passed, in 1703, an Jet of 
Security, by which it was declared that the successor of her majesty in 
Scotland should not be the same as in England, unless a free commer- 
cial intercourse was permitted between the two countries ; while a 
measure was at the same time adopted for arming the people. In these 
circumstances the English ministry, fearful that the northern crown 
might fall into the hands of the Pretender, resolved upon effecting an 
incorporating union; and for this purpose a treaty was drawn up by 
commissioners chosen from each country, for the purpose of joining the 
two legislatures ; the Scots to send forty-five members to the Commons 
and sixteen to the Upper House, and to retain their judicial and ecclesi- 
usticnl establishments. These terms, though regarded by the Scottish 
people as miserably inadequate, were nevertheless carried through their 
parliament, May 1, 1707; and thenceforth England and Scotland formed 
one state, under the title of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. 

Meanwhile the continental war continued, the victory of Oudenarde, 
1708, being accompanied in the same year by the surrender of the islands 
of Majorca and Minorca to the British, and followed by the triumph at 
Malplaquet, 1709. But the Whigs, under whose auspices this contest 
had been protracted, were now becoming unpopular, and the influence 
of the Tory party began to be felt in the queen's councils. Their entire 

* James became henceforth known by the appellation of the Pretender, a term having 
its rise from an assertion made at bis birth, that lie was a supposititious child. Subse- 
fluent writprs. having no doubt that he was the real son of James II., have employed i» 
simply to designate bis pretensions to the Rritish throne, 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 435 

ascendency was at length achieved by the trial of Henry Sacheverell, a 
divine of inferior note, who had preached an inflammatory sermon, call- 
ing upon the people to take arms in defence of the church, w r hich he 
pronounced to be in danger from the principles of toleration acted on by 
the ministry. This person, though subjected merely to a nominal pun- 
ishment, was regarded as a martyr; and the queen being herself deeply 
imbued with High Church principles, Hariey, afterwards Earl of Ox- 
ford, and St. John, afterwards Lord Bolingbroke, obtained the seals of 
office at the head of a decidedly Tory government, 1710. These states- 
men speedily exerted themselves to bring about a peace, which, after 
much negotiation, was signed at Utrecht, 1713, Britain gaining little by 
her exertions except the retention of her conquests of Gibraltar and Mi- 
norca. Anne died suddenly in the following year. 

House of Brunswick, 1714. — The late queen and her ministers were 
supposed not unwilling to have set aside the Act of Succession, and 
thereby reinstate the direct Stuart line; but her sudden death prevented 
any steps being taken for that purpose, and the Elector of Hanover, son 
of the Duchess Sophia, was accordingly proclaimed under the title of 
George I. The new king, knowing well to which party his elevation 
was owing, immediately raised the Whigs to power, while he treated 
their opponents with great harshness, and even suffered articles of im- 
peachment to be drawn up against the heads of the late administration. 
The Tories, however, still succeeded in fomenting popular disturbances 
in favour of High Church principles, which w r ere met by an enactment 
called the Riot Ad, permitting a military force to be used in dispersing 
a crowd after the act itself shall have been read by a magistrate in their 
hearing. Thrust out. from all hope of office and power, and deeply 
resenting the treatment of their leaders, the same party now resolved to 
bring in the Pretender, otherwise called the Chevalier St. George, by 
force of arms; and accordingly the Earl of Mar, secretary of state in the 
late government, put himself at the head of 10,000 Highlanders, while 
a simultaneous rising took place in the north of England under the Earl 
of Derwentwater, September 1715. The movement, however, was but 
slenderly supported by the nation, while all hope of aid from France 
was disappointed by the death of Louis XIV. ; so that, before the prince 
could arrive to encourage his partisans, his Scottish adherents had been 
defeated by the Duke of Argyle at Sheriffmuir, while the southern insur- 
gents were forced to surrender themselves prisoners at the town of Pres- 
ton in Lancashire. The Highland army now rapidly dispersed, the 
chevalier and Mar making their escape into France, while Derwentwater 
and about twenty other prisoners suffered by the hands of the executioner. 
The successful suppression of this rebellion tended greatly to the sta- 
bility of the Hanoverian dynasty; and the ministers took advantage of 
the disturbed state of the country to extend the duration of parliament 
from three to seven years. 1716. 

In 1718, Britain became a party in a Quadruple Alliance, along with 
Holland, France, and Germany, for the purpose of repressing an attempt- 
on the part of Spain to regain her Italian possessions. Admiral Byng 
was despatched with a squadron to the Mediterranean, where he defeated 
the Spanish fleet near Sicily ; while the failure of an expedition fitted 
out to invade England in favour of the Pretender, compelled the Catholic 
monarch to accede to the terms of the allies, 1719. 



436 MODERN HISTORY. 

South Sea Bubble, 1720. — A Scotsman of the name of Law, after almost 
ruining France by the famous Mississippi scheme, was the means of inspiring 
the British people with a similar visionary project. It originated in a proposal 
tti" the ministry to reduce the interest of the national debt, amounting to upwards 
of fifty millions, from six to five per cent., when Sir John Blount, one of the 
directors of a company professedly formed for trading to the Pacific, projected 
the purchase and management of all the government liabilities. The company 
was accordingly empowered to raise funds by means of shares, which, by 
various tricks and manoeuvres, unintelligible unless explained in detail, were 
rapidly enhanced to ten times their original value. During this seeming pros- 
perity, many realized large fortunes by selling their shares to others at enormous 
premiums ; but in a short time the unsoundness of the whole scheme was dis- 
covered, the price fell, and thousands were utterly ruined. A committee of the 
Commons, with great difficulty and by an extremely complicated adjustment, 
succeeded in restoring credit by equalizing ns far as possible the state of gain 
and Loss among the innocent sufferers ; and Sir Robert Walpole, who had been 
mainly instrumental in effecting this arrangement, became prime-minister, 1721. 

Consult : Lord Mahon's Hist. England, ch. ix. 

Geohge II., 1727. — George I. was succeeded by his son of the same 
name, a prince of respectable character and moderate abilities, under 
whom Walpole continued at the head of affairs. The love of peace 
being the distinctive feature of this minister's policy, he exerted his 
influence in developing the commercial resources and arranging the 
finances of the country; but his parliamentary career was marked by an 
extensive system of bribery, alike disgraceful to the members and to 
himself. At length the Spaniards, with the view of putting a stop to 
the illicit traffic which had sprung up with their American colonies, 
began to insist on a right of searching all vessels sailing in the South 
Sea; and this indignity being offensive to the country, Walpole was 
forced to declare war against that people, 1739. Hostilities, however, 
were languidly conducted, the chief exploit being the taking of Porto- 
bello at the outset of the war, which was more than balanced by an 
unsuccessful attack on the town of Oarthagena in the following year, 
involving a loss of 20,000 men. The war between France and the 
Queen of Hungary had now broken out, and the English king, alarmed 
for the safety of his German dominions, resolved upon taking up arms 
in behalf of that princess, 1742. The premier, who was strongly op- 
posed to this measure, retired from office, which was given to the chief 
of his parliamentary opponents; and his majesty himself, with the Earl 
of Stair, led an army to the Continent, where he gained a victory over 
the French at Dettingen, 1743. In a subsequent campaign the British 
forces, under the young Duke of Cumberland, were less successful, being 
subjected to a severe repulse at Fontenoy, and forced to retreat, 1715. 

Rebellion of 1745. — Meanwhile the court of Louis, with the view 
of effecting a diversion in favour of their army in the Netherlands, had 
fitted out an expedition in support of the exiled Stuart family. Their 
fleet, however, having been driven back by a storm, Charles Edward, 
eldest son of the Pretender, resolved on prosecuting the enterprise un- 
aided, trusting solely to the attachment of his friends in Britain; and he 
accordingly landed in Inverness-shire in July 1745. A number of the 
Highland clans speedily repaired to his standard, and the prince having 
descended with his tumultuary followers into the Lowlands, took pos- 
session of Edinburgh, and defeated the royal forces at Prestonpans. He 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 437 

shortly after entered England, where he penetrated as far as Derby, but 
was then compelled to retire towards the north; and being 1 now opposed 
by the Duke of Cumberland with large reinforcements, at length expe- 
rienced a total overthrow at Culloden, 1746. Charles, after a variety 
of adventures, reached France in safety, while numbers of his unfortu- 
nate adherents perished on the scaffold or by military execution. Mea- 
sures were then taken to prevent similar attempts, by suppressing the 
hereditary jurisdictions in the Highlands, and the tartan dress was pro- 
hibited ; the army and other public employments were opened to the 
gentry, and the Scottish people at large treated in a milder spirit. Dur- 
ing the remainder of the war in which the confederates were engaged 
with France, the forces of the latter were generally successful by land, 
while the British fleets were triumphant at sea; but all parties willingly 
listened to overtures of peace, which terminated in the treaty of Aix-la- 
Chapelle, 1748, leaving matters in precisely the same condition in which 
they stood before the commencement of hostilities. 

Seven Years' War. — The British colonial empire had now attained 
an unexampled pitch of prosperity both in India and America; and their 
lucrative commerce provoked the cupidity of the French, who commenced 
a series of encroachments, particularly in the latter continent, which 
eventually led to hostilities, 1756. The King of Prussia, being at the 
same time involved in a war with Louis and other continental sove- 
reigns, received the support of an English army and large subsidies. 
On the accession to office of Mr. Pitt (afterwards Earl of Chatham), 
1757, the war was carried on with great vigour, all Canada submitting 
to the British, though at the expense of the life of the brave General 
Wolfe, while their arms in India were signally triumphant under Colo- 
nel Clive. At sea, the naval victories of Sir E. Hawke, 1759, and Cap- 
tain Elliot, 1760, rendered the British maritime supremacy indisputable. 
These triumphs, however, were somewhat counterbalanced by the French 
invasion of Hanover, in the course of which a body of 40,000 men, under 
the Duke of Cumberland, were compelled to lay down their arms, 1757, 
leaving that country for a time in the hands of the victors. 

George III., 1760. — In the midst of these contests the king died, and 
was succeeded by his grandson, then in his twenty-third year, by the 
title of George III., who at that time began one of the longest and most 
remarkable reigns in English history. Mr. Pitt soon retired from office, 
with a peerage and a pension, and M T as succeeded by the Earl of Bute, 
a man of peaceful dispositions, under whom, however, the war continued 
to be prosecuted. The French power in India was nearly destroyed, 
and a rupture again occurring with Spain, in consequence of the signa- 
ture of the family compact with France, Havannah and Manilla were 
taken, 1762. At length, by the peace of Paris, tranquillit}' was re- 
established in a manner highly favourable to Great Britain ; the Spa- 
niards ceding Florida and Minorca, while France gave up Louisiana, 
Canada, and various islands in the West Indies, 1763. But the national 
debt had now increased to 43110,000,000. 

The signal success which had so generally attended this war, rendered 

it highly popular with the people; and the Earl of Bute, who had all 

along been odious from his Scotch extraction and Tory principles, was 

assailed with the most violent abuse for the treaty now concluded, and 

37* 



438 MODERN HISTORY. 

speedily forced to retire from office. One of the most virulent of his 
opponents was Mr. John Wilkes, member for Ailesbury, and editor of a 
paper entitled the North Briton. Mr. Grenville, successor of Bute, in- 
stituted a prosecution against this personage for a libel contained in the 
forty-fifth number of his paper, in which he had directly accused the 
king of falsehood. He was apprehended on a general warrant issued by 
the^secretary of state, and committed to the Tower, but was released 
again in a few days, as being a member of the House of Commons. 
Though expelled from parliament, and his paper ordered to be burnt by 
the hands of the common hangman, Wilkes commenced an action against 
the secretary for illegal imprisonment, which terminated in a verdict of 
damages, and a declaration by Chief-Justice Pratt, that general warrants 
were inconsistent with the laws of England.* The .celebrated Letters 
of Junius belong to this period. 

American War. — The war in which Britain had recently been en- 
gaged, having been undertaken in a great measure for the defence of the 
North American colonies, the ministry now resolved upon taxing those 
provinces, as a means of relieving the burdens of the parent state. Mr. 
Grenville accordingly procured the enactment of the celebrated Stamp 
Act, 1765, which was strongly resisted by the Americans, on the plea 
that they were not represented in the Imperial Parliament, and that their 
charters and privileges secured to them the sole right of taxing them- 
selves. In consequence of the strenuous opposition thus excited, the 
government consented to repeal the obnoxious statute, though still 
asserting a right to impose taxes on the colonies, which was acted on 
in 1767 by a duty on tea, glass, and paints; but, in 1770, during the 
ministry of Lord North, all these imposts were abandoned except that 
on tea, which it was determined to retain, as an assertion of the right 
of parliament to tax their dependencies. The unavailing remonstrances 
of the inhabitants at length led to the struggle detailed under the head 
United States, and which, aided by France and Spain, terminated in 
the treaty of Versailes, 1783, when those colonies were finally acknow- 
ledged by England as "free, sovereign, and independent." At the same 
time, the Irish volunteers, a large body of armed men assembled for the 
defence of that country, procured the recognition of the independence of 
their parliament, and the extension to the people of the right of habeas 
corpus. The national debt now amounted to nearly 267 millions ster- 
ling. 

This formed altogether a most tremendous epoch in the history of the British 
empire. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the gradual develop- 
ment of her vast commercial and military resources had excited the wonder and 
jealousy of surrounding states; and France, in particular, could not easily for- 
get the triumphant peace she had dictated in 1763. '['hat power was therefore 
readily induced to promote the independence of the British colonies, and to send 
a force for their assistance, 1778; Spain, conceiving the period for her humilia- 
tion had at length arrived, declared war against her in the following year ; in 

* Mr. Wilkes at this time found it prudent to retire to the Continent, whence he sub- 
sequently returned during the ministry of the Duke of Grafton, and was elected member 
for the county of Middlesex, 1768. Tl; ■ Commons formally expelled him from the house , 
but he was again returned a second and a third time, and as often rejected. The cry of 
"Wilkes and Liberty" now became general; forty-eight peers, including all the great 
Whig chiefs, publicly protested against the injury supposed to be done to the cause of 
popular representation; and from the agitations thus produced may be dated the lon« 
strucxle for Parliamentary reform in England 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 439 

1780, Holland was added to the number of her enemies ; while Russia, Sweden, 
and Denmark formed an armed neutrality indirectly hostile to her cause. In 
1779, 300,000 men, 300 armed ships, and twenty millions sterling annually, 
were found no more than enough to meet the enormous force brought to bear 
against her ; and even these unexampled exertions were insufficient to prevent 
the unwonted spectacle of a hostile fleet riding unopposed in the Channel. 
These fearful difficulties from without were aggravated by internal disorders 
of an alarming nature. In 1778, in consequence of the repeal of certain severe 
penal statutes against the English Catholics, formidable riots took place in 
Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other cities ; and, in 1780, a mob assembled by Lord 
George Gordon retained uncontrolled possession of the metropolis during five 
days, setting fire to the city in various quarters, and pillaging and demolishing 
ill every direction. But the inherent strength of the empire was found fully 
equal to the crisis. The internal disorders were speedily composed ; Gibraltar, 
besieged four years, proved invulnerable to the attacks of France and Spain, 
1779-1783; Rodney vanquished the Spanish fleet in 1780, and that of France 
near Dominica in 1782 ; and though the peace of Versailles terminated in the 
dismemberment of the empire, and was followed by some colonial concessions 
to her European enemies, Britain afterwards attained, partly by this very dis- 
memberment, an unexampled height of commercial prosperity, and her navies 
annihilated the maritime resistance of the world. 

The ministry of Lord North had been succeeded by one under the 
Marquis of Rockingham in 1782; and, on the death of this nobleman 
shortly afterwards, the seals of office were transferred to the Earl of 
Shelburne, by whom the peace of Versailles was signed in the folio wirier 
year. The celebrated Charles James Fox, and William Pitt, son of the 
Earl of Chatham, now appeared on the theatre of parliament; and in 
1783, the Coalition Ministry was formed, Mr. Fox and Lord North be- 
coming joint-secretaries of state. These associates having attempted to 
obtain the entire patronage of India by means of a measure called the 
India Bill, the king, sanctioned by the voice of the nation, raised Mr. 
Pitt to the office of prime-minister, who remained at the head of affairs 
till the end of the century. The new premier, who had hitherto pro- 
fessed liberal principles, signalized his entrance into office by a motion 
for reform in parliament, which was rejected by a large majority, 1785, 
and by the promulgation of the well-known scheme of a sinking fund 
for reducing the national debt, 1786. At the same.time commenced the 
trial of Mr. Warren Hastings for alleged cruelty and robbery in India, 
which extended over several years, but ended in his acquittal. In 1788, 
the king first began to display symptoms of insanity; and the question 
of a regency gave rise to animated discussions in parliament between 
Fox and Pitt, which were terminated by his majesty's recovery, 1789. 

Meanwhile, the course of events on the continent of Europe w T as pre- 
paring for England a contest of unexampled severity and duration. The 
French revolution began in 1789, and rapidly advanced to a consumma- 
tion in the execution of Louis XVI., 1793. At this period, a great 
number of democratical societies existed in Britain, for the purpose of 
obtaining a reform in parliament ; and there can be little doubt that the 
apprehension of scenes at home similar to those which had so fearfully 
distinguished the neighbouring country, rendered the ministry not averse 
to a war in defence of ancient institutions. The French envoy was ac- 
cordingly ordered to quit England, which was immediately followed by 
a declaration of hostilities on the part of the convention ; while Pitt 
formed alliances with the powers who had already declared against the 
Jepublicans. The first military operations on the Continent were unfa- 



440 MODERN HISTORY. 

vourable to England and her allies; but France lost all her colonial 
possessions; her fleets were defeated by Howe, 1794, and by Nelson, 
1798; three expeditions to Ireland failed; Jervis vanquished a Spanish 
squadron oif Cape St. Vincent, and the Dutch navy was annihilated by 
Duncan at Camperdown, 1797. The Cape of Good Hope was taken 
from Holland, and Trinidad from Spain. A mutiny of the Channel 
fleet, 1797, was fortunately composed without loss to the nation ; while 
a rebellion in Ireland, 1798, was speedily suppressed, and a body of 
French troops sent to aid the insurgents taken prisoners. At the same 
time, with the view of attaching Ireland still more closely to the British 
crown, an incorporating union, similar to that formed with Scotland a 
century before, was effected, 1801, by which that country became an 
integral part of the empire, and George III. assumed the title of sove- 
reign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 

•' Nine years of peace had enabled Great Britain to recover, in a great degree, 
the losses and exhaustion of the American war. If she had lost one empire in 
the Western, she had gained another in the Eastern world: the wealth of India 
began to pour into her bosom ; and a little island in the west of Europe already 
exercised a sway over realms more extensive than the arms of Rome had 
reduced to subjection. A vast revenue, amounting to £7,000,000, was already 
derived from her Indian possessions ; and although nearly the whole of this 
great sum was absorbed in their costly establishment, yet her rulers already 
looked forward with confident hope to the period, now never likely to be 
realized, when the empire of Hindostan, instead of being as heretofore a burden, 
should be a source of revenue to the ruling state, and the wealth of India really 
become that mine of gold to Britain which it had long proved to numbers of 
her children. Her national debt, amounting to £244,000,000, and occasioning an 
annual charge of £9,317,000, was indeed a severe burden upon the industry of 
the people ; and the taxes, though light in comparison of what have been 
imposed in later times, were still felt as oppressive ; but, nevertheless, the 
resources of the state had augmented to an extraordinary degree during the 
repose which had prevailed since the conclusion of the former contest. Com- 
merce, agriculture, and manufactures, had rapidly increased ; the trade with 
the independent states of North America had been found to exceed what had 
been enjoyed with them when in a state of colonial dependence ; and the 
incessant exertions of every individual to better his condition, had produced a 
surprising effect upon the accumulation of capital and the state of public credit. 
The three per cents., from 57 at the close of the war, had risen to 99 ; and the 
overflowing wealth of the capital was already finding its way into the most cir- 
cuitous foreign trades and hazardous distant investments. The national revenue 
amounted to £16,000,000, and the army included 32.000 soldiers in the British 
isles, besides an equal force in the East and West Indies, and thirty-six regi- 
ments of yeomanry ; but these forces were rapidly augmented after the com- 
mencement of the vvar, and. before 1796. the regular army of Britain amounted 
to 206,000 men, including 42.000 militia. More than half of this force was 
required for the service of the colonies; and experience has proved that Britain 
can never collect above 40,000 men upon any one point on the continent of 
Europe. The real strength of England consisted in her inexhaustible wealth, 
in the public spirit and energy of her people, in the moral influence of centuries 
of glory, and in a fleet of 141 ships of the line, which gave her the undisputed 
command of the seas." — Alison's History of the French Revolution, vol. i. p. 
516-518. 

FRANCE. 

War of the Spanish .Succession. — Scarcely had the treaty of Rys 
wick given peace to Europe, and promised a period of repose to the 
exhausted rssources of the French empire, ere the elements of a new 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 441 

struggle arose, destined to destroy the long supremacy of her ambitious 
sovereign, and to cloud his declining days with ruin and disaster. 
Charles II., king of Spain, was now on the brink of the grave, without 
any immediate successors, and the nearest heirs to the throne were the 
Emperor Leopold, on behalf of his second son the Archduke Charles; 
Philip, duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis; and the Prince of Bavaria, 
also a relative of the Emperor. It was at first agreed, with the consent 
of the English monarch, to partition the Spanish territory among the 
contending claimants ; but this arrangement was at once set aside when 
it was found that Charles II. had bequeathed the entire succession to 
the French prince, 1700. The new monarch, supported by his grand- 
father, was immediately acknowledged by the people as Philip V. ; 
while on the other hand, Germany, England, and Holland, formed an 
offensive alliance, which was afterwards joined by Prussia, Portugal, 
and Savoy, 1701. War now broke out in all quarters; the imperialists, 
under Prince Eugene, invaded Italy, where the French were signally 
defeated ; while the celebrated Duke of Marlborough was appointed to 
lead the armies of the allies in the Netherlands, where he compelled 
Boufflers, the French general, to retreat, and captured Venlo, Rure- 
monde, and Liege. The treasury of Louis was exhausted, and, to add 
to his distresses, a formidable insurrection of the Protestants took place 
in the Cevennes, 1702 : while in the same year his fleet was utterly 
destroyed at Vigo by the English and Dutch. The signal defeat at 
Blenheim, 1704, was next year followed by the almost complete con- 
quest of Spain by the Archduke Charles and the Earl of Peterborough; 
and though these conquerors were in 1707 defeated at Almanza by the 
forces of Philip V., under the Duke of Berwick, a natural son of James 
II., Louis had still to regret the disaster at Ramillies, which placed the 
entire Netherlands at the feet of his enemies, and the decisive battle of 
Turin, gained by Prince Eugene, which almost annihilated his Italian 
army, 1706. An abortive attempt to invade Scotland in behalf of the 
Stuarts, and the defeat of Oudenarde, 1708, which appeared to open the 
way to Paris, now forced the French monarch to sue for peace; but the 
demands of the allies were so exorbitant, that he resolved to hazard an- 
other campaign, in which he was signally discomfited by Marlborough 
at Malplaquet, 1709. Again he solicited an accommodation, offering 
yet more favourable conditions, which were still haughtily rejected ; and 
the total ruin of this once powerful prince seemed impending, when the 
accession of the Tories to office in England, in 1711, deprived Marlbo- 
rough of his command, while the Archduke Charles in the same year 
became Emperor of Germany, and thus entirely changed the aspect of 
affairs. The European powers were even more unwilling to see Spain 
in the hands of Austria than in those of the Bourbons, and the cause of 
Philip V. having now gained a decided preponderance in that country, 
peace was at length signed at Utrecht with England and the other allies, 
1713, and in the following year with the emperor at Rastadt. By these 
treaties the right of Philip to the Spanish crown was recognised, but 
with the stipulation that Spain and France should never be united under 
one sovereign ; while England received large territories in America ; 
Naples, Milan, and the Spanish Netherlands, fell to Austria; and the 
Duke of Savoy obtained the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Louis him 
self died in. 1715. 



442 MODEltN HISTORY. 

Louis XIV. was a great but a bad sovereign, and his reign proved a source 
of incalculable evils to France and to Europe. His most valuable qualities — 
power of application to business, quickness in discovering and applying the 
abilities of others, and skill in attaching them to his service ; even the senti- 
ment of religion which he seems to have possessed — became with him the meru 
instruments of ambition and intolerance. In his long reign of seventy-two 
years, he reared the fabric of absolute monarchy in France ; and the ruling 
principles of his government, uniformity and centralization, survived even the 
storms of the revolution. With him began the great military system of Europe ; 
and his immense standing armies, clothed in uniform, and armed with the 
bayonet, set a fatal example to surrounding states. From 1672 he maintained 
a lorce of 180,000 regulars ; and afterwards, including the marine, there were 
in arms not fewer than 450,000 men. The revenues of his kingdom were at 
the same time raised to the enormous sum of thirty millions sterling; and at 
his death he bequeathed a debt of more than two thousand millions of livres. 
Unhappily, his abilities, by no means extraordinary, were nevertheless of that 
theatrical and showy cast, so likely to create admiration in an excitable people ; 
and to the passion for false glory engendered during his reign may be traced 
that course of events which, in the next century, after unparalleled bloodshed, 
placed France once more prostrate beneath a military despotism. 

The Regency, 1715. — Louis XV., great-grandson of the former so- 
vereign, and nephew to Philip V. of Spain, was a feeble infant on his 
accession to the throne, and the regency in consequence devolved on 
Philip, duke of Orleans, who had been nominated to that office by the 
will of the late king. The regent, though regarded as a man of unprin- 
cipled character, began with several salutary measures. He reformed 
many of the most glaring abuses of the late reign, liberated a number 
of individuals who had for years been immured in the prison of the 
Bastile ; while he at the same time reduced the army, enforced economy, 
and endeavoured to maintain peace in Europe. This was partially dis- 
turbed by the ambitious projects of Cardinal Alberoni, prime-minister 
of Spain, who wished to displace the regent, and recover the Italian 
territories given up at the peace of Utrecht; but Philip was speedily 
forced to dismiss the priestly statesman and accede to the Grand Alli- 
ance, 1720. 

Mississippi Scheme, 1718. — Meanwhile, the disorder in which he had found 
the finances, and the grievous deficiency in the revenue, induced the duke to 
listen to a wild project propounded by the celebrated John Law, which even- 
tually involved the nation in wide-spread bankruptcy and ruin. This plan con 
sisted in the establishment of a bank of issue, the shares of which were offered 
to the national creditors in exchange for their stock ; while, with the view of 
inducing the public to purchase these shares, the bank was conjoined with ;. 
company having a monopoly of trade with the Mississippi territory and Canada 
io the former of which great numbers of planters and artisans were removed 
for the cultivation of tobacco and other produce, 1718. In the following year, 
the East India and Senegal Companies were incorporated with the Mississippi 
Company ; and the prospect of the advantages thus held out was so great, that 
its stock speedily rose 1200 per cent. The corporation bad now obtained the 
fanning of the entire public revenues and an exclusive privilege of coining, and 
had actually advanced large sums to government in payment of the national 
debt. In 1720, its stock rose to the enormous height of 2050 per cent. ; but 
this was the climax of the delusion : the hopes of profit were found to be 
erroneous, and, in the course of a few weeks, the bank suspended payment of 
its notes. By this step thousands of wealthy persons were reduced to indigence, 
and Law retired in disgrace to Venice, where he died in poverty. The same 
period was conspicuous for a calamity of a different kind, the plague at Mar- 
seilles, by which fully half of the inhabitants were swept away ; an even* 



eighteenth century a. d. 443 

illustrated by the heroic labours of the "good bishop," Belzunce, who exerted 
nimself day and night to relieve the distress of the inhabitants. 

The regent died in 1723, at which period the young king came of age ; 
and, by the advice of the Duke of Bourbon, now become prime-minister, 
he was induced to marry the Princess Maria, daughter of Stanislaus, 
ex-king of Poland, who had taken refuge in France, 17*25. The duke 
was dismissed in 1726, to make way for the Cardinal Fleury, a man of 
pacific disposition, and possessing great influence over the mind of the 
king. The cardinal made every exertion to restore order in the finances, 
and promote the revival of credit and commerce, endeavouring with this 
view to maintain peace in Europe. Nevertheless, a war broke out in 
1733 against Russia and Austria on behalf of Stanislaus ; but the real 
strength of France was directed towards Italy and the Rhine, at the 
latter of which the Austrians under Piince Eugene were opposed by the 
Duke of Berwick, who fell while taking the town of Philipsburg, 1734. 
In Italy, also, the French arms were successful under Marshal Villars, 
w<ho united his forces with those of the King of Sardinia, and reduced 
Milan with various other strong places ; while Naples was overrun emd 
conquered by a Spanish army under Don Carlos. A treaty was at 
length concluded at Vienna, 1735, by which the duchy of Lorraine w r as 
given to the exiled Polish monarch, to revert to France on his death, ana 
Naples and Sicily were ceded to Don Carlos, thereby establishing a 
third Bourbon dynasty in Europe. 

By the peace just concluded, France had become a party to the famous 
Pragmatic Sanction, guaranteeing the Austrian succession to the Princess 
Maria Theresa, daughter of the Emperor Charles VI. But on the 
death of that sovereign in 1740, Louis, in utter disregard of these obli- 
gations, and against the advice of Fleury, agreed to assist the Elector 
of Bavaria in his claims to her inheritance, and thereby involved him- 
self in a war with Britain. The enthusiasm of the Hungarians and 
Austrians in favour of their youthful queen frustrated all the designs of 
her enemies ; the French and Bavarians were expelled from Bohemia, 
and they were also defeated at Dettingen by the English under George 
II., 1743. The death of the cardinal in the same year freed the king 
from the restraints which his wise and virtuous character imposed ; 
and he declared he would henceforth govern without a minister. The 
conquest of the Austrian Netherlands now became the chief object with 
Louis, where his forces under Marshal Saxe defeated at Fontenoy, with 
great slaughter, the allied army of England, Austria, and Holland, led 
by the Duke of Cumberland, 1745. Two subsequent campaigns were 
equally favourable to France ; but her arms were unfortunate in Italy, 
her fleets had been annihilated, and Britain threatened her colonies in 
India and America. In these circumstances, a treaty w r as at length con- 
cluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, all parties agreeing to a mutual restitu- 
tion of conquests. 

France now enjoyed the blessings of peace nearly seven years, dis- 
turbed, however, by factions among the clergy ; and the king aban- 
doned himself to the control of his mistress, the Marchioness ol* Pompa- 
dour, a vulgar and ambitious woman. But, in 1755, in consequence of 
certain disputes as to the boundary between Canada and the British 
settlements, a contest, known as the Seven Years' War, broke out be- 
tween France and England, in which, entirely reversing the previous 



444 MODERN HISTORY. 

state of parties, the former united with Austria, while the latter allied 
herself with Frederick of Prussia. The events which followed are 
noticed under England and Prussia ; and it may suffice to repeat, that 
at the peace of Paris, 1763, France, utterly prostrated, surrendered the 
whole of her American and African territories, besides various islands 
in the West Indies. Her finances, too, were in a state of deplorable con- 
fusion ; while the monarch, abandoned to the most shameless profligacy, 
formed a harem after the fashion of Eastern sultans, on which he 
squandered vast sums. The Duke of Choiseul, his last able minister, 
by whose advice the Jesuits had been expelled from France in 1764, 
attempting to bring him to a sense of his degradation, was banished 
from the court, 1770; while the remonstrances of the provincial parlia- 
ments were stifled by the strong hand of arbitrary authority. The king 
died in 1774, having previously lost his eldest son, the dauphin, in 1765, 
who left three sons, afterwards known as Louis XVI., Louis XVIII., 
and Charles X. 

The reign of Louis XV., one of the most contemptible and odious characters 
in French history, formed an ominous and fatal sequel to that of his predecessor. 
The wasteful extravagance and boundless ambition of the former monarch were 
at least gilded by the lustre of his early victories ; but, under his successor, the 
nation was destined not merely to see its laurels fade before the ascendency of 
England, but to lament the perversion of the revenues, drawn from an exhausted 
and famishing people, to maintain the unveiled debaucheries of the court. The 
nobility and higher clergy, exempted from taxation and possessed of exclusive 
privileges, trampled on the inferior orders, and, while following the example of 
corruption thus held out, lent a greedy ear to the sensual philosophy now be- 
come fashionable with all classes. These causes, added to an empty exchequer, 
a debt of four thousand millions of livres, impolitic restrictions even on internal 
trade, general poverty, national humiliation, and universal discontent, prepared 
the way for the fearful explosion which took place under his unfortunate suc- 
cessor. 

Louis XVI., 1774. — The new sovereign was about twenty years of 
age when he succeeded to the throne, having married, in 1770, the 
Archduchess Marie Antoinette, daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria. 
The natural disposition of the king, which was amiable and virtuous, 
led him to put a stop to the scandalous depravity of the court, and he 
was sincerely anxious to promote the happiness of his people ; but, 
though possessed of considerable industry and application, his mind 
was weak and irresolute. One of his first acts was to restore the Par- 
liament of Paris, exiled in the previous reign ; and the management of 
the finances was intrusted to Turgot, an enlightened minister, who pro- 
posed many salutary reforms. But his measures being opposed by the 
nobility, and even by the parliaments, who feared that their importance 
would be lessened by them, the timid monarch was induced to dismiss 
him in 1776, and transfer the office to Necker, a Swiss Protestant, also 
an able and well-intentioned man.* Notwithstanding financial embar- 

* From the dictates of his own natural disposition, however, Louis effected much 
partial good. Ho ".'ranted liberty of trade in corn between one province and another, 
made reforms in the administration, abolished various feudal exactions and the practice 
ot torture, established BOme degree of economv and order, and set a conspicuous example 
of it in the management of his own household. He also extended freedom of worship to 
the Protestants ; and demonstrated on the whole, that if he could have followed the bent 
of his own heart an I understanding, France might have had cause to rejoice in the 
blessings rather than to lament the calamities of his reign. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTUKY A.D. 445 

rassments, the French marine had been brought, by extraordinary exer- 
tions, nearly to an equality with that of England ; and when the Ame- 
rican colonies of the latter country began their struggle for independence, 
the people, burning to wipe out the disgraces of the former contest, 
eagerly clamoured for war, to which the king reluctantly consented. A 
treaty of commerce and alliance was accordingly signed between France 
and the United States, 1778 ; hostilities were declared, and a body of 
auxiliaries, under the Marquis La Fayette, sent out to aid the colonists. 
The chief events of this struggle have already been noticed ; and it may 
suffice to state, that its consequences to France, besides a great aggra- 
vation of financial difficulties, were conspicuous in the general diffusion 
of those republican principles which had been imbibed by the army 
during their service in America. 

The Revolution. — Meanwhile M. Necker had been doomed to share 
the fate of his predecessor, from nearly the same causes, 1781 ; and in 
1783, Calonne, supposed to be a more pliant personage, was appointed 
to succeed him. After various unsuccessful efforts to meet the difficul- 
ties of his position, the minister at length, 1787, resolved upon assem- 
bling the Notables, a number of influential persons nominated by the 
king, to whom he proposed a measure for taxing the whole landed pro- 
perty in the nation, including that of the nobles and clergy. But this 
body, being entirely composed of territorial proprietors, at once rejected 
the proposal; Calonne resigned; and Louis, after vainly employing 
several successive advisers, at length recalled Necker, 1788. This 
statesman now declared that the only resource left was to assemble the 
states-general, a body consisting of the three orders, clergy, nobility, and 
commons or third estate, which had not met since 1614 ; and they were 
accordingly convoked in May 1789 at Versailles. The king had pre- 
viously agreed that the deputies of the third estate should equal in num- 
ber those of the other two orders ; and immediately after their meeting, 
the commons made a proposal that the three estates should assemble 
and deliberate together. This being at first refused by the nobles and 
clergy, the commons declared themselves The National Assembly, and 
at length succeeded in forcing the others to join them in one common 
hall. 

A fearful excitement now prevailed in Paris and throughout the coun- 
try, which was greatly aggravated by the imprudence of his majesty in 
dismissing Necker, July 11, the only individual near him who continued 
to retain public confidence. The nobles of the court, headed by the 
king's brother, the Count d'Artois, were occupied in collecting troops 
from all quarters around Versailles and the capital ; while the Parisians, 
joined by a portion of the regular army, whose pay was greatly in arrear, 
formed themselves into a body called the national guard. On the 14th 
July, this newly organized force, accompanied by a vast concourse of 
the lowest people, stormed the Bastile, and massacred the governor and 
his lieutenant ; simultaneous insurrections against the mansions of the 
wealthy occurred in the provinces ; and the princes of the blood and 
many of the nobility, thoroughly alarmed, hastened to leave the country. 
The perplexed monarch again recalled Necker; but the enthusiasm of 
the populace was shared by the assembly, which now proceeded in its 
task of legislation with an absurd and fatal rapidity. On the night of 
the 4th of August, every incorporate and vested right in the kingdom 
38 



446 MODERN HISTORY. 

was cancelled by a single vote ; and on the 20th September Louis was 
compelled to sanction a decree by which the entire royal authority was 
swept away, and France virtually created a republic, with an hereditary 
magistrate having the regal title. The excitement in Paris still increased, 
fomented by various demagogues and the miseries of a famine ; and on 
the 6th of October, a mob from that city attacked the palace of Versailles, 
massacred the guards, and compelled the king and his family, at the 
peril of their lives, to remove to Paris, whither the National Assembly 
also repaired. On the very same day the famous Club of the Jacobins 
began its sittings. 

During the year 1790, the royal family remained in the Tuileries, in 
a condition no way different from that of prisoners, constantly disturbed 
by alarms of insurrection and rumours of foreign war; while the assem- 
bly continued their labours for the new organisation of the country. On 
the 16th June, they abolished hereditary titles and every distinction of 
rank; and, in November following, passed a decree ejecting from their 
benefices all those of the clergy who refused to swear to the new order 
of things. Necker had now resigned and departed from the country, 
an example which had already been set by most of the nobility and 
higher classes ; and the unfortunate monarch, left alone to contend with 
a storm of democracy which he had neither courage to allay nor genius 
to direct, also attempted to escape, June 1791. He was, however, stopped 
and brought back to Paris ; and, in September following, the assembly 
presented to him the new constitution in a complete form, which he 
swore faithfully to observe. That body now dissolved itself, declaring 
at the same time that its members should not be eligible for re-election 
to the ensuing Legislative Assembly, which commenced its sittings on 
the 1st October. This new body was almost wholly made up of persons 
holding republican principles; the majority being connected with the 
Jacobin Club, while the more moderate party, led by Brissot and other 
deputies from the Gironde, were found in the end altogether destitute of 
influence. They began by confiscating the property of the emigrants 
and banishing the nonjuring priests ; and at the same time, the king 
was treated with marked disrespect, and even forced to dismiss a num- 
ber of his guards. At this period, the Austrian and Prussian monarchs, 
alarmed by the progress of democracy in France, assembled a large force 
on the frontiers; the assembly declared war against them in April 1792; 
and in July, the Duke of Brunswick, commander of the combined armies, 
issued a violent manifesto, declaring his intention to reinstate the royal 
authority, to treat the authors of the late changes as rebels, and even to 
subject the capital to military execution. This arrogant declaration ex- 
cited general resentment, and drove the populace of Paris to absolute 
phrensy. On the 10th August, they attacked the Tuileries, massacred 
the Swiss guards, and compelled the king and his family to take refuge 
in the hall of the assembly, whence they were immediately after trans- 
ferred as prisoners to the old palace of the Temple. The gaols of Paris 
now contained large numbers of recusant priests and others ; and, on the 
advance of the allies into France, bands of furious ruffians burst into 
these places of confinement, and massacred their unfortunate inmates in 
cold blood, 2d Sept. ; similar scenes were also enacted in the chief cities 
of the provinces. 

The Republic. — The Legislative Assembly now gave place to a new 






EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 447 

^ody termed the National Convention, which, on the first day of its sitting, 
abrogated the constitution, and declared France a republic ; shortly after, 
they invited the people of all nations to overturn their existing govern- 
ments, and offered them protection. The Jacobin or Mountain party,* 
led by Danton and Robespierre, were now the ruling power; and the 
fate of the unfortunate prisoners in the Temple was not long in being 
decided. On the 21st January 1793, after a mock trial by the conven- 
tion, the king was led out to execution ; an act of gratuitous atrocity, 
which at once arrayed against France the moral sympathies of mankind, 
and provoked a coalition among all the powers of Europe. j~ By this 
time, however, the revolutionary authorities had assembled numerous 
and well-appointed armies; and, in 1792, General Dumouriez, who had 
been opposed to the Duke of Brunswick, after compelling that leader to 
retreat from France, gained a victory at Jemappes, which gave him pos- 
session of all the Austrian Netherlands. In the beginning of 1793, war 
was declared against England, Spain, and Holland ; which last country 
was immediately invaded by Dumouriez, who, however, soon after de- 
serted to the allies ; but, at the end of the year, the French had still the 
ascendency in Flanders, and their armies on the Rhine were equally 
successful. The city of Lyons, having revolted, was taken by the re- 
publican troops after a siege of two months, and became the scene of 
horrible atrocities ; the people of La Vendee, who had risen in behalf of 
royalty, after being' entirely overcome in the field, were massacred in 
thousands; while the seaport of Toulon, which had been taken by the 
English, was recovered, chiefly through the skill of a young officer of 
artillery, Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of Corsica. The ruling spirits 
of this extraordinary epoch, known as the Reign of TerroPv, and charac- 
terized equally by intense vigour and wild ferocity, were Robespierre 
and Oarnot, the heads of the Committee of Public Safety. To the latter 
was intrusted the chief control of military operations ; while the former 
directed the confiscations and massacres perpetrated by those sanguinary 
courts which had been established in the capital and principal cities for 
the trial of persons accused of disaffection. As if to demonstrate the 
close alliance between crime and irreligion, the convention, in October 
1793, passed a decree prohibiting the worship of God ; busts were erected 
in the public places to various infidels ; while a great festival, equally 
absurd and impious, was celebrated in honour of the apotheosis of the 
Goddess of Reason. In little more than a year, the revolutionary tribunal 
of Paris had sent 1106 persons to the guillotine, including nearly the 
whole moderate part of the convention ; while, by July 1791, Robespierre 
had procured the execution of a great number of his former associates, 
besides nearly a thousand other victims. At length the remaining mem- 
bers of the convention, each fearful of being the next sacrifice, united 
against the dictator, who was himself executed on the 28th July 1794.:}: 

* So called from occupying the most elevated benches in the convention. 

fOn the 14th October of the same year, the queen was brought to the guillotine ; the 
king's sister, Princess Elizabeth, suffered the same fate on the 10th May following; his 
young son, the dauphin, died in prison in 1795. Of this ill-fated family, the princess 
royal alone survived, being given up to the Austrians in exchange for some French 
prisoners, 17 ( J5. 

J The republican writer, Prudhomme. gives a list of upwards of one million persona 
who suffered during this period, including 18,ii03 persons of both sexes who were guillo- 
tined: 937,000 perished in La Vendee; 32,000 at Nantes, exclusive of the massacres at 
Versailles, Lyons, and various other places. 



448 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Directory. — The fall of Robespierre placed the direction of 
affairs in the hands of more moderate men; but Carnot still had the 
control of the military operations, which were prosecuted with the same 
energy and success. The republican fleet, indeed, had been destroyed 
by Lord Howe, June 1794, and their possessions in the West Indies 
taken by the British; but, by the beginning of 1795, Holland was en- 
tirely overrun and incorporated with France; their victories in Germany 
forced Prussia to a humiliating peace; corresponding triumphs in Spain 
led to the same result with that country, followed next year by an alli- 
ance offensive and defensive. In October, the convention terminated its 
extraordinary career, and was succeeded by an executive government of 
five directors, Barras, Carnot, Reubell, Reveillere-Lepaux, and Letour- 
neur, and two legislative bodies ; the one, composed of 250 members, 
was denominated the Council of Ancients, the other was called the 
Council of Five Hundred. The emigrants were forthwith invited to 
return, and the clergy to celebrate the worship of that divine Being 
whom France had at length consented to recognise as supreme. Austria 
and England, and some of the Italian states, were now the only powers 
who continued the contest; and in the* spring of 1796, the directory sent 
three great armies into the field, — that of the Sambre and Meuse, under 
Jourdan; of the Rhine and Moselle, under Moreau ; while the command 
of the army destined for Italy was intrusted to Bonaparte, who, some 
time before, had rendered an important service to the directory by sup- 
pressing a revolt of the sections in Paris. The first and second of these 
armies, opposed by the Archduke Charles, one of the ablest generals of 
his time, maintained the campaign in Germany with various fortune; 
but the success of that under Napoleon was little less than miraculous. 
After defeating the Austrians in various successive engagements, and 
plundering the states of Northern Italy, he succeeded, February 1797, 
in capturing the strong city of Mantua, whence he instantly crossed the 
Alps and marched at once upon Vienna. The danger of his capital now 
forced the emperor to negotiate ; in October the peace of Campo Formio 
was concluded, by which the Austrian Netherlands were ceded to 
France, and Milan, Mantua, Modena, Bologna, and Ferrara formed into 
a mere dependency called the Cisalpine Republic. The conversion of 
Genoa into the Ligurian Republic speedily followed ; in 1798, Rome 
was taken possession of, and the pope deposed ; while an unprovoked 
invasion of Switzerland terminated, after a brief but desperate struggle, 
in the imposition upon that country of a constitution on the model of 
that established at Paris. 

England was now the only enemy of France; and the design of 
attacking her vast empire in India became a chief object with the direc- 
tory. Apparently with this view, and possibly also to get rid of a 
general whose talents and towering ambition began to excite alarm, 
Bonaparte, in 1798, was despatched from Toulon to Egypt at the head 
of 40,000 men. On his way thither, he obtained possession of Malta; 
successfully eluded an English squadron under Nelson, which had been 
sent to watch his proceedings ; and, on the 5th July, landing at Alex- 
andria, he took that city by storm, while the fleet remained at anchor in 
Aboukir Bay. On the 1st of August, the English Admiral hove in 
sight, and on the same evening began an engagement which utterly 
annihilated the French squadron, and shut up their army within the 



EIGHTEENTH CENTUKY A. D. 449 

limits of Egypt. Nevertheless, Napoleon soon made himself master of 
the entire country, and marched into Palestine, where he laid siege to 
the town of Acre ; but the pasha having intrusted the command to Sir 
Sidney Smith, an officer in the British navy, the place was so obstinately 
defended, that he was forced to raise the siege. He then retreated into 
Egypt, where, encountering a Turkish army which had been sent from 
Constantinople, he utterly destroyed it at Aboukir, July 1799. But he 
had no intention of remaining in this distant country, isolated from the 
great events then transacting in Europe. The Anstrians, encouraged by 
Nelson's victory at Aboukir, had again taken the field, and, aided by a 
Russian army under Suwarrow, recovered possession of the whole of 
Italy. Bonaparte accordingly returned to France, leaving his army 
under the command of General Kleber ; and, on the 10th of November, 
after various intrigues, succeeded in overturning the directory, and 
obtaining the supreme power by the title of First Consul. 

The downfal of the directory and the final triumph of its ablest military chief, 
terminated the great drama of the revolution, by far the most remarkable and 
important event In modern history. In England it tended unquestionably to 
retard the progress of constitutional liberty, by furnishing its antagonists with 
the strongest arguments against concession to the popular voice. Still, numer- 
ous obstacles, perhaps otherwise insurmountable, were removed, and the face 
of Europe gradually prepared for important though less violent changes, by 
which the wealthy middle and commercial classes have succeeded to the power 
and influence of a prejudiced aristocracy. The most immediate consequences 
in France were — 1. The abolition of feudal rights and the privileges of primo- 
geniture ; 2. Equality in the eye of the law ; 3. The establishment of inde- 
pendent tribunals for the administration of justice ; 4. National representation 
with taxation ; 5. Liberty of the press, and religious toleration ; 6. The aboli- 
tion of torture ; 7. The division of provinces into departments. The following 
institutions also appeared amidst the storms of this period: — The National 
Guard, the Institute, the Jury ; but this last, adopted from England, does not 
succeed in a land even yet imperfectly prepared for constitutional liberty. 

SPAIN. 

The will of Charles II. in favour of the young Duke of Anjou, though 
mainly obtained through the successful intrigues of his grandfather Louis 
XIV., seems to have been cheerfully acquiesced in by the majority of 
the Spaniards ; and the Bourbon prince was at once proclaimed as 
Philip V. throughout the European and transatlantic possessions of the 
monarchy, 1700. In the long war which followed with Austria and 
England, the people, aided by a body of French troops under the Duke 
of Berwick, remained steadfast to their sovereign ; until at length that 
general totally routed the rival claimant at Almanza, 1707, and placed 
Philip in undisturbed possession of the greater part of the Peninsula, 
Catalonia alone remaining in the hands of the enemy. The contest, 
however, of which a notice has already been given under France, con- 
tinued six years longer, the seat of war being chiefly Italy and the 
Netherlands ; and Spain of course shared in the signal humiliation which 
it entailed on the French king. The treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt, 
1713, 1714, stripped her of all her European dependencies, and secured 
to England the strong fortress of Gibraltar, an acquisition which that 
country has ever since retained. This struggle was also fatal in a great 
measure to the liberties of the people ; for Philip, who had been educa- 
38* 



450 MODEKM HISTORY. 

ted in the despotic principles of his grandfather, and was long ruled by 
French counsellors, succeeded in abrogating the free constitutions 
enjoyed by the various provinces, and the country became more than 
ever united into one uniform and absolute monarchy. 

The death of the queen, Maria Louisa, in 1714, terminated the Frencli 
influence in Spain. Alberoni, an Italian Jesuit, and a person of bold 
and unscrupulous character, had been appointed envoy from Parma to 
the court of Madrid, and succeeded in bringing about a marriage between 
Elizabeth Farnese and Philip. This princess speedily showed her de- 
termination to command both her consort and his kingdom ; she igno- 
miniously turned off the Princess Orsini, the chief favourite of the late 
queen and also of his majesty himself; while Alberoni, the agent of her 
elevation, was successively made prime-minister, a cardinal, and a 
grandee of Spain. The influence of these two ambitious individuals 
soon became apparent in numerous cabals to set aside the treaty of 
Utrecht, and thereby secure to Philip the reversion of the French crown 
and the recovery of his lost dominions in Italy. At the same time, it 
must be acknowledged that the internal administration of the cardinal 
was characterized by a wisdom and vigour long unknown to the Span- 
iards ; his endeavours to promote general improvement and increase the 
advantages derived from the colonies, did much for the restoration of the 
country ; and it may even be doubted whether he would not have perse- 
vered in this judicious course, had not the imperious character of the 
queen precipitated hostilities. These at length broke out on the death 
of Louis XIV., 1715 : a conspiracy was formed in France for the over- 
throw of Orleans and the appointment of the Spanish sovereign to the 
regency of that kingdom ; an armament was despatched against Sar- 
dinia, which was conquered in three months ; and an expedition was 
even fitted out to invade England on behalf of the Stuarts. But the 
formation of the Quadruple Alliance, 1718, rendered all these designs 
abortive ; and Alberoni, who had thus drawn on himself the deep resent- 
ment of France and England, was deprived of all his offices, and com- 
pelled to take his departure. However, in the peace which followed, 
1720, the reversion of the duchies of Parma and Tuscany was secured 
to the queen and her heirs. 

In 172-1, Philip abdicated his crown in favour of his son Louis ; but 
this prince having died a few months after of the smallpox, he again 
resumed the government. The real motive for this singular step seems 
to have been the hope of thereby succeeding Louis XV., whose health 
was very precarious, on the throne of France, an attempt which would 
not have been permitted while he remained king of Spain. The ambi- 
tion of the queen was therefore again directed towards Italy ; and, on 
the breaking out of the Polish succession war in 1733, hostilities were 
declared against Austria, ai.d an army under her son, Don Carlos, was 
sent thither. lie speedily made himself master of Naples and Sicily, 
acquisitions which were ultimately secured to him by the peace of 1736, 
though at the expense of her majesty's patrimonial territories, the 
duchies of Parma and Piacenza, which were surrendered to the emperor. 
In 1739, war broke out with England in consequence of some disputes 
as to the contraband trade with America; and in the foil o wing year 
Spain took part in the attacks on Maria Theresa of Austria; neither of 
which contests was conducted with much spirit. Philip, who had long 
laboured under a hypochondriacal malady, died in 1746. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 451 

Ferdinand VI. had married in 1729 the Princess Barbara of Portugal ; 
and he had the good fortune to recover, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
1748, the duchy of Parma and other territories in Italy, as a principality 
for his half-brother Philip. The remainder of his reign was happily 
barren of what are called great events, exhibiting little beyond a contest 
between the English and French agents in support of the policy of their 
respective courts. In following the bent of his natural disposition, 
he preserved a strict neutrality, and, aided by his excellent minister, the 
Marquis of Enseiiada, originally a peasant, devoted himself to heal the 
wounds inflicted by war, alleviate the burdens of the people, encourage 
agriculture, and re-establish order in the finances. The revenues, which 
under Charles II. had scarcely amounted to thirty millions of reals, ex- 
ceeded in 1750 thirty millions of dollars, although many taxes had been 
reduced or abolished. At his death, in 1759, he left about three millions 
sterling in the royal treasury, and a navy augmented to fifty ships of 
war. 

Don Carlos, king of Naples, succeeded his brother Ferdinand by the 
title of Charles III. At this time France and England were engaged 
in the celebrated seven years' war, from whi/ch Spain for a time kept 
aloof, but was at length drawn into it by signing the treaty with the 
brmer country, known as the Family Compact, 1761. An immediate 
rupture with England was the consequence; and Portugal, refusing to 
sacrifice her alliance with that power, was unsuccessfully invaded by a 
Spanish army. The English fleet captured Havannah, with a numerous 
squadron and great booty; the Philippine Islands also fell into their 
hands. After the conclusion of peace in 1763, by which Florida was 
ceded to Great Britain, Charles occupied himself with the interior im- 
provement of his kingdom, and societies for the promotion of the arts 
and agriculture sprung up over all the Peninsula. The roads, which 
had previously been so bad that no public carriage was in existence, 
were greatly improved ; the canal of Aragon, begun by the Emperor 
Charles V., was continued ; and the revived manufactures of cloth and 
glass became equally celebrated and valuable. In 1766, some popular 
tumults occurred in Madrid and other places, which with very little ap- 
pearance of probability were ascribed to the instigation of the Jesuits; 
and that order was in consequence summarily banished in the following 
year. Various other measures were adopted to limit the influence of the 
church and the power of the Inquisition; while military schools were 
founded, and great exertions made to restore the navy, which had suffer- 
ed severely by the disastrous contest of 1761 ; so that the Spanish fleets 
became important auxiliaries to those of France during the American 
war, 1779. Charles died in 1788, sincerely regretted by his subjects, 
whose happiness and prosperity had been greatly promoted throughout 
his whole reign, both by his own exertions and by those of his enlight- 
ened ministers, Aranda, Campomanes, and Floridablanca. 

Charles IV. was forty years of age when he ascended the throne. 
The commencement of his government, w r hich coincides with the epoch 
of the French revolution, seemed to promise a continuance of the wise 
policy of his father; but Godoy, a favourite of the queen, having suc- 
ceeded Floridablanca in power, soon involved the country in a new 
career of misfortune. In 1793, the convention declared war against 
him, on the ground that he had improperly interfered in the internal 



452 MODERN HISTORY. 

concerns of France; and there is no doubt that he joined with zeal in 
the crusade against that country. A contribution of fully three millions 
sterling being voted towards the expenses of the war, Roussillon was 
invaded by the united armies of »Spain and Portugal; but in 1794 the 
French entered Catalonia, and compelled Godoy to conclude an ignomi- 
nious peace. The next step of the favourite, who had obtained the sin- 
gular title of Prince of the Peace, was to conclude an offensive and 
defensive alliance with the revolutionary leaders, by which it was stipu- 
lated that each state should, in case of war, receive from the other the 
aid of fifteen ships of the line and 24,000 troops. The necessary result 
of this measure was an immediate rupture with England, in which the 
Spanish fleets were destroyed, the islands of Trinidad and Minorca 
wrested from her, and her colonial and foreign trade nearly ruined. The 
dominions of Charles now became little better than a French dependency; 
Portugal, having refused to submit to a similar degradation, was invaded 
by an army of 40,000 men, commanded by Godoy in person, compelled 
to cede the fortress of Olivenza, and to close her ports against England, 
1801. 

GENEALOGY OF THE SPANISH BOURBON FAMILY. 

1. Philip V., s. of Louis (dauphin), b. 1G83, k. 1700, abd. 15th January, rest. 6th 

September 17-24, d. 174(5. 



2. Louis I., b. 1707, 3. Ferdinand VI., b. 1711, 4. Charles III., b. 1716, 

k. 1724, d. 1724. k. 1746. k. 175.1. 

7. Charles IV., b. 1748* 
k. 1788, abd. Ir08. 



(i. Ferdinand VII., b. 1784 = Maria Antoinette, 
d. of Ferdinand IV. of Sicily, 1S02, k. 1808. 



7. Maria Isabella II. (minor), 1833, q. 

PORTUGAL. 

The reio-n of Peter II., of nearly forty years' duration, enabled Portu- 
gal in some measure to recover from the wounds inflicted by foreign 
domination and the hostilities by which it was terminated; but the 
country could hardly have attained its former eminence, even though 
the government had been more wisely administered than it actually was. 
From this time may be dated her commercial relations and alliance with 
England. In 1703, a treaty was concluded by the British ambassador, 
Mr. Methuen, which secured important advantages .to both countries, 
and the Portuguese were induced to take part in the war of the Spanish 
succession Peter was succeeded in 1706 by his eldest son John V., a 
prince of moderate abilities, under whom, nevertheless, some vigour was 
displayed in relation to foreign affairs, and various attempts were made 
for the promotion of internal welfare, by restricting the enormous powers 
of the Inquisition, and promoting trade and manufactures. That body, 
however, were much too formidable to allow the object to be effectually 
attained ; and although the national revenues were considerably im- 
proved, yet immense sums were squandered on the sumptuous monas- 
tery of Mafra, and in obtaining permission from the Pope to institute a 
patriarch of Lisbon. John V. also patronised literature; in 1714 he 
founded the Portuguese Academy, and in 1720 that of History. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 453 

Joseph I. succeeded his father in 1750, and chose for his minister the 
bold and enterprising Don Carvalho, afterwards Marquis of Pombal. 
The spirit of reform and improvement which had been developing itself 
in Spain now also became active in Portugal ; and this statesman, emu- 
lating Aranda and Floridablanca, was indefatigable in his efforts to 
restore its ancient prosperity. Industry of all kinds, commerce, and. 
education, received his attention and support; absurd sumptuary law T s 
were abolished, piracy was checked, the frontiers were fortified, and the 
army regularly paid. The Jesuits and the nobility, who had exercised, 
a dangerous influence under the preceding reign, were vigorously attack- 
ed, sometimes with a degree of violence not altogether prudent. Several 
of his measures, too, were regulated by the narrow views of political 
economy prevalent at the time ; the monopoly of the Oporto Wine Com- 
pany, intended to deprive England of some of the benefits she derived 
from the Methuen treaty, being equally detrimental to the native growers. 
In the midst of his various plans, a terrible earthquake (November 1755) 
occurred at Lisbon, by which nearly the entire city was thrown down, 
and about 15,000 persons perished in the ruins. For some years, the 
attention of Pombal was mainly occupied with endeavours to repair the 
ravages of this frightful event; but, in 1758, he renewed his hostility to 
the Jesuits, resolving even on their expulsion from the kingdom. Some 
trifling colonial disputes with Spain had revealed the immense influence 
acquired by these fathers among the Indians of South America, and a 
plot for the assassination of the king having about this time been disco- 
vered, was charged without a shadow of evidence to their instigation. 
The order was accordingly proscribed and banished, with circumstances 
of hardship and cruelty w T hich affix an indelible stigma upon the memory 
of this minister. After the signing of the family compact between Spain 
and France, 1761, Portugal, still adhering to the English alliance, was 
exposed to invasion ; but the war terminated honourably for the country, 
through the able measures of the British general, 1763. 

The accession of Maria, 1777, terminated the ministry of Pombal, 
who had raised up to himself many enemies among the nobility, and 
given great offence to the queen by an attempt to impede her succession. 
Her majesty inherited all the bigotry of the house of Braganza ; the 
ignorant nobles and the equally ignorant and still more ambitious clergy 
soon regained much of their former influence; and he was consequently 
condemned to perpetual exile' from the court. Her first measures, how- 
ever, were sufficiently popular: a number of persons were released from 
prison, while a defensive alliance with Spain secured the peace of the 
Peninsula and terminated the colonial disputes between the countries. 
In 1786, she lost her husband Pedro, which induced a state of melan- 
choly that rendered her nearly incapable of public business ; the govern- 
ment, of course, fell into great disorder, and faction disputed the autho- 
rity of the state. She at length became entirely insane; and, in 1799, 
her eldest son, John, prince of Brazil, was declared regent, with full 
regal powers. 

ITALIAN PENINSULA. 

Savoy, Piedmont, and Sardinia. — Victor Amadeus II., duke of 
Savoy, had by the treaty of Utrecht reunited Montferrat to Piedmont, 
and the crown of Sicily to his paternal coronet. To take possession of 



454 MODERN HISTORY. 

his new kingdom, he passed into Sicily with all his court, where he en- 
gaged in hostilities with the Pope, in defence of the royal prerogatives 
against the pretensions of the holy see. In 1718, the Spanish invasion 
of this island and the Quadruple Alliance compelled him to exchange 
Sicily for Sardinia, which was raised to the rank of a kingdom. After 
having long attracted the attention of Europe by his enterprising and 
successful ambition, he resigned the crown to his son, Charles Ema- 
nuel III., 1730, and retired to the villa of Moncalieri, where he died 
two years afterwards. The new sovereign was, like his father, a skilful 
warrior and politician, and equally true to his own interest. By the 
contests of the Polish and Austrian successions, he obtained considera- 
ble augmentations of territory. From the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to 
his death in 1773, his reign exhibits no remarkable event; the place of 
battles and victories being occupied by useful reforms, and other endea- 
vours to promote the welfare of his subjects. Unfortunately, this state 
of affairs changed considerably under Victor Amadeus III., a prince 
fond of show and parade; and Sardinia, until the end of the eighteenth 
century, groaned beneath the despotism of its viceroys and the continu- 
ally augmenting weight of abuses engendered by a corrupt administra- 
tion. 

Tuscany — Cosmo III. grandduke from 1670 to 1723, left his terri- 
tory in a miserable condition, loaded with debt and oppressed with 
abuses. His son, John Gaston, endeavoured to compensate by the 
pleasures of royalty for the constrained life he had previously been com- 
pelled to lead ; but, in consequence of his ruinous prodigality, his demise 
in 1737 was esteemed a fortunate event for his people. As he died 
without heirs, the duchy was conferred by the great powers of Europe 
on Francis, duke of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa, who, becoming 
Emperor of Germany some time afterwards, allowed the interests of 
Tuscany to fall into neglect. On the death of the emperor, his second 
son, Peter Leopold, succeeded him as grandduke, 1765, under whose 
wise and paternal government the prosperity of the country began 
gradually to revive. 

^ The Two Sicilies. — After the war of the Spanish succession, the 
kingdom of the Two Sicilies was divided, by the treaties of Utrecht and 
Rastadt, between the Emperor Charles VI., who took the continental 
portion, and the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus, who obtained Sicily. 
In 1733, these territories were reunited under Austrian masters; but, in 
1734, the Infant Don Carlos began the reconquest of them, which he 
completed in the following year. He was immediately crowned king 
as Charles VII., and legitimatized his title by a wise and beneficent 
administration. His successor in 1759 was Ferdinand IV., a minor 
eight years of age, under the regency of the able Tanucci. The com- 
pletion of his majority, 1767, was celebrated by the expulsion of the 
Jesuits from his dominions. Ten years after, Tanucci was disgraced, 
having possessed power nearly half a century. An Englishman named 
Acton succeeded to his duties, but became odious to the people by 
adopting what were thought too stringent measures for the reorganisa- 
tion of the military force. 

Venice, under Francis Morosini, had been signally victorious over 
the Turks at the end of the seventeenth century. She was sensible 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A.D. 455 

of her real feebleness and decline, and, during the war of the Spanish 
succession, almost alone remained neutral. In 1714, the Ottomans 
recovered the Morea; and, in 1715, the republic confined its exertions to 
save the island of Corfu, the key on that side to Italy and the Adriatic. 
Aided by the emperor, the recovery of their lost territories might have 
been effected ; but the Austrian forces being- required elsewhere, the 
treaty of Passarowitz was hastily concluded at the expense of Venice, 
1718. The policy of this state was to maintain an entire neutrality, 
which did not, however, preserve it from being ravaged by the contend- 
ing forces of 1733. In like manner, during the war between the Turks 
and Russians in 1768, it sided with neither party, confining its exertions 
to a few ill-directed etforts against the pirates, whose tributary it even- 
tually became. 

States of the Church. — Clement XL, 1700, issued the celebrated 
bull Unigenilus, which, during half a century, caused so many ridiculous 
disputes and odious persecutions. A tribunal established in Sicily by a 
manifesto of Urban II. led to serious differences with the king of that 
island, 1713 ; but they were terminated in a short time. Benedict XIII., 
1724, a model of all Christian virtues, weakly abandoned the govern- 
ment to the Cardinal Benevento, who unworthily abused his confidence, 
causing an annual deficiency of 120,000 Roman crowns. The very day 
of this pontiff's death was signalized by a rising of the populace to 
punish the minister and his agents. Benedict XIV., 1741, esteemed 
for his moderation, terminated the Jansenist dispute, and settle the differ- 
ences of his predecessors with the courts of Spain, Portugal, Sicily, and 
Sardinia. In the w T ar of the Austrian succession, the neutrality of his 
territories was violated, for which he received a trifling compensation 
after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Clement XIII., 1748, got into 
trouble with all the princes of the Bourbon family by an interdict he had 
published against the Duke of Parma : France seized upon Avignon, the 
King of Naples took Benevento, and Spain threatened to appropriate 
the church revenues. His troubles were further increased by the anti- 
sacerdotal spirit of the times, manifested principally by the expulsion of 
the Tesuits from the various states of Europe. Clement XIV. (Ganga- 
nelli), 1769, one of the wisest men ofjthe age, yielding finally to neces- 
sity, published a bull abolishing the order of Jesuits, — a condescension 
which was repaid by the restitution of Benevento and Avignon. The 
early part of the long reign of his successor, Pius VI., 1774, was occu- 
pied with acts of charity or useful labours ; in founding asylums for 
indigent young females and hospitals for the friars charged with the 
education of the people, clearing out the port of Ancona, and draining 
the Pontine marshes. 

Consult: Sismondi's Italian Republics. 

GERMANY. 

Joseph I., son of Leopold, having been elected king of the Romans in 
1690, at once succeeded to the imperial honours on his father's death in 
1705. The long war of the Spanish succession, already noticed under 
France, was then at its height, and formed of course the most prominent 
event of his reign, internally distinguished by a wise, tolerant, and hu- 
mane administration. His brother, the competitor for the throne of 



456 



MODERN HISTORY. 



Spain, succeeded him in 1711 as Charles VI., and thus led to the termi 
nation of a contest which had well-nigh ruined France, and exposed many 
parts of Europe to bloodshed and devastation. The treaty of Utrecht, 
1713, the actual conclusion of the war. was confirmed by him at Rastadt 
the next year; by it he obtained the Spanish Netherlands, except the 
Dutch barrier towns, with Milan, Naples, and Sardinia; this last being 
afterwards exchanged for Sicily. 

The conquest of the. Morea, achieved in 1715 by Achmet III., led the 
emperor to form an alliance with Venice against the Turks, in which 
Prince Eugene gained fresh laurels. He signally defeated them at 
Peterwaradin, and afterwards captured Belgrade and a great part of 
Servia, which with other places were formally ceded by the Porte to 
Austria, 1718; while the attempt on the part of Spain to take advantage 
of this contest to recover her lost territories in Italy was frustrated by 
the Quadruple Alliance. But the main concern of the emperor was 
directed to the choice of a successor in his hereditary dominions. With 
this view, he issued in 1721 the famous Pragmatic Sanction, or funda- 
mental law regulating the order of succession in the Austrian family ; 
by which, in default of male issue, Charles' eldest daughter, Maria 
Theresa, and her descendants after her, were called to that vast inherit- 
ance. This regulation was guaranteed by all the German princes and 
several of the European powers ; and various intrigues and alliances 
were set on foot for the purpose of having it generally recognised, — that 
with his old enemy, Philip V. of Spain, 1725, being not the least extra- 
ordinary. But this temporary alliance, it is well known, was speedily 
dissolved, and Charles returned to the party of the maritime states. The 
latter years of his reign were greatly agitated by these causes, by dis- 
putes respecting Parma and Piacenza, and by the war which arose out 
of the Polish election, 1733. He afterwards engaged with Russia in 
hostilities against Turkey, 1738 ; but his army met only with reverses, 
and the peace of Belgrade, signed in the following year, deprived Aus- 
tria of all the acquisitions she had obtained in 1718. This humiliation 
accelerated the death of the emperor, which took place in 1740. He 
was a patron of letters and science, founded a public library, and began 
a cabinet of medals. In the hereditary states he formed new and im- 
proved roads, and endeavoured to stimulate manufactures and commerce. 

By great exertions, Charles VI. had procured for the Pragmatic Sanc- 
tion the guarantee of all the chief European states; and therefore, as 
well as by right of blood, Maria Theresa was the undoubted sovereign 
of the Austrian dominions.* But she soon experienced the inefficacy 
of treaties when opposed to the presumed interests of rulers. She had 
hardly taken possession of the inheritance when her right was disputed 
— by Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, on a will of the Emperor Fer- 
dinand ; by Augustus III. of Poland, elector of Saxony, in right of his 
wife Maria, eldest daughter of the Emperor Joseph, Charles' eldest 
brother; and by the King of Spain, on a most recondite genealogy; 
while Frederick of Prussia put forth a groundless claim to the province 
of Silesia, and the Sardinian monarch demanded the duchy of Milan. 

* This princess had married, in 173G, Francis, duke of Lorraine, afterwards grandduke 
of Tuscany, where she and her husband were residing at her father's death. The ter- 
ritories bequeathed to her bv that event were Hungary, Bohemia, Upper and Lower 
Austria, Silesia, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Burgau, Bri'sgau, the Tyrol, Friuli, Milan, 
Parma, Piacenza, the Netherlands, and part of Swabia. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 457 

Only England and Holland remained faithful to their engagements. 
Frederick at once took the initiative in the contest by invading the pro- 
vince he had claimed; while he offered Maria Theresa his friendship on 
condition of receiving its unconditional surrender, — a proposal which 
she magnanimously rejected. The elector of Bavaria, on his part, 
assisted by French auxiliaries, invaded Austria and Bohemia, and, 
pushing his troops to the very gates of Vienna, forced the queen to flee 
from her capital. Repairing to Hungary, she convoked the diet at Pres- 
burg, and appeared in the midst of the assembly with her infant son in 
her arms. By an eloquent and heart-stirring address, she awakened the 
enthusiasm of that chivalrous nation ; the barons, drawing their swords, 
swore to defend their sovereign to the last; and the whole military fuce 
of Hungary was speedily marshalled around her. Under Prince Charles 
of Lorraine, her brother-in-law, and General Kevenhuller, these brave 
troops speedily drove the French and Bavarians out of the hereditary 
states, with the exception of Bohemia, which still remained in the hands 
of the enemy ; but they were unable to prevent the election of Charles 
Albert to the imperial crown, which was conferred on him by the diet 
of Frankfort, 1742, under the title of Charles VII. 

Maria Theresa was now compelled to purchase peace with the Prus- 
sian monarch by the surrender of Silesia. She was able, at the same 
time, to conclude a treaty of alliance with Sardinia against the French 
and Spaniards, who were thereby kept in check on the side of Italy ; 
while the former, under Broglio and Belleisle, blockaded in Prague, 
offered to surrender their conquests in Bohemia for permission to retire, 
and were at length forced to a disastrous retreat. Nevertheless, in 1744, 
Frederick again took the field against the queen, demanding additional 
territories ; but the dector of Saxony, who had made an alliance with 
her, sent reinforcements, which obliged the Prussians to evacuate Bohe- 
mia with the loss of 20,000 men. In 1745, Charles VII. died ; and 
the queen, whose fortunes were now decidedly in the ascendant, not- 
withstanding the victory achieved by France over her English allies at 
Fontenoy, gained the highest point of her ambition in the elevation of 
her husband as Francis I. to the imperial honours. In Italy, the 
Austrian and Piedmontese troops obtained great advantages; in 174G, 
they won the battle of Piacenza against the French and Spaniards, and 
occupied Genoa, which, however, was afterwards lost through a popular 
insurrection. Another bloody campaign took place in Italy and Flan- 
ders, with no decisive result ; and next year, 1748, the war was ter- 
minated by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, securing to the empress-queen 
the peaceful possession of her dominions, except Silesia alone, which 
remained in the hands of Frederick. 

Maria Theresa employed this interval of repose in various useful and 
important measures of internal reformation, thereby securing still more 
firmly the attachment of her various subjects. The revenues were much 
increased, and the army reorganized by Count Daun, the great military 
rival of Frederick of Prussia, while the chief direction of the government 
was intrusted to Prince Kaunitz. The principal aim of this minister's 
policy was the humiliation of Prussia, now one of the most formidable 
powers in Europe. With this view, a league was entered into with 
Russia, Saxony, and France ; while England, then at war with the 
last-mentioned country, promised her aid to Frederick, 1756. A fearful 
39 



458 MODERN HISTORY. 

struggle, known as the Seven Years' War, was the consequence, in 
which the Prussian monarch had to contend almost alone against these 
formidable opponents. It ended in 1763, both Austria and Prussia re- 
maining with the same boundaries as before. Two years later, the 
Emperor Francis I. died, leaving the dignity to his son, who had shortly 
before been elected King of the Romans. 

Joseph II., though nominally emperor, remained altogether destitute 
of real power during the lifetime of his mother, and was indebted to the 
Austrian armies alone for the security of his position. Hence he may 
be said rather to have acquiesced in than effected the infamous partition 
of Poland, 1773, between Prussia, Russia, and Maria Theresa, who her- 
self seems to have been forced reluctantly to agree to it. At all events, 
Austria gained thereby a large accession of territory, — a circumstance 
which did not prevent her from claiming, on the extinction of the 
electoral house of Bavaria by the death of Maximilian Joseph, 1777, 
nearly all the possessions of that family. With the view of enforcing 
this demand, and regardless of the rights of the undoubted heir, Charles 
Theodore, elector-palatine, an Austrian army at once occupied the whole 
electorate. France, Russia, and Prussia, however, remonstrated against 
this appropriation ; and Frederick quickly poured an immense force into 
Bohemia, which wasted the country even to the walls of Prague. These 
prompt measures led to a peace at Teschen, 1779, by which the elector- 
palatine obtained his inheritance, though a small portion of his spoils 
was secured to the emperor. In 1780, died Maria Theresa, the best and 
greatest sovereign of her race, after a reign of forty years, devoted to the 
promotion of the happiness of her people. 

Maria Theresa made many important improvements for the benefit of her 
wide dominions. In 1776 she abolished the torture in the hereditary states, and 
put an end to the rural and personal services which the Bohemian peasants 
rendered to their feudal lords ; and from 1774 to 1778 her attention was occupied 
with the establishment of a general system of popular education. Various 
salutary regulations were enforced touching the temporalities of the clergy ; 
and in" Italy the arbitrary power of the Inquisition was circumscribed within 
narrow limits. Lombardy, after the long misrule of its Spanish governors, 
experienced an era of reviving prosperity under her minister Count Firmian, 
who reformed the financial arrangements, and protected the peasants from the 
oppressions of the great. 

Joseph II., who aimed at the reputation of a reformer, now undisputed 
master of the Austrian territories, imagined himself at length able to 
indulge his ambition abroad, as well as to enter on his long-meditated 
changes at home. Various schemes of aggrandisement were formed at 
the expense of Holland, Turkey, and the smaller Germanic states, 
especially the exchange of the Netherlands for Bavaria ; but the inter- 
position of France and the King of Prussia, who succeeded in effecting 
a defensive league among the several princes, effectually kept him in 
check. The innovations of the emperor, embracing the entire abolition 
of feudalism, religious equality, uniformity of government and taxation, 
regular dispensation of justice to all classes, and the establishment of 
the German as a universal language throughout his dominions, were in 
themselves of the most salutary description ; but they were carried into 
effect with an arbitrary and restless haste which gave great offence to 
nations differing widely from each other, and most of them but imper- 
fectly prepared for such sweeping changes. In the Catholic Nether- 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 459 

lands, in particular, these inroads on their ancient usages were viewed 
with detestation, while the alteration of their native language produced 
great excitement in Hungary and Bohemia. In 1788, under pretext of 
an alliance with the Empress Catherine II., then at war with Turkey, 
he raised a large army for the invasion of that country. He conducted 
one division of it in person, with little credit ; but another, under General 
Laudon, succeeded in capturing Belgrade and other fortresses, 1789. 
The disturbances in Hungary and the Low Countries, however, which 
had been carried the length of open revolt, and the intervention of Prus- 
sia and the maritime powers, arrested the progress of the Austrian arms, 
and probably accelerated the death of the emperor, which took place 
in 1790. 

Joseph was succeeded by his brother Leopold II., grandduke of Tus- 
cany, in the hereditary states, and shortly after also in the imperial 
honours. This prince had gained a high character in his Italian princi- 
pality, and soon displayed a laudable prudence and moderation in 
governing his extensive empire. He at once abolished the more odious 
innovations of his brother, thereby, in some measure, securing internal 
tranquillity ; placed himself on a footing of amity with Prussia and 
England ; and concluded an advantageous peace with the Porte. The 
most important event of his reign, which embraced little more than 
twelve months, was an alliance with Prussia, 1792, to arrest the pro- 
gress of French republicanism, which became the precursor of conse- 
quences most disastrous to his country. He was succeeded in the same 
year by his son Francis II., at a time when the discontent produced by 
the rash innovations of Joseph had not subsided, and war with France 
appeared inevitable. It broke out in April by a declaration on the part 
of the Legislative Assembly, and was carried on for some years on the 
Rhine with varied success : but the brilliant victories of Bonaparte 
forced on the peace of 1797. However, in 1799, a new coalition was 
formed between Austria, Russia, and England, and the allied armies 
were eminently triumphant both in Italy and on the Rhine, when a mis- 
understanding between the Austrian and Russian commanders led to the 
defeat of the latter in Switzerland and his subsequent withdrawal, 1800. 

GENEALOGY OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG-LORRAINE. 

52. Francis I., b. 1708, emp. 1745, d. 1765 = Maria Theresa, q. of Hungary and 
| Bohemia. 

, A , 

53. Joseph II., b. 1741, emp. 1765, 54. Leopold II., b. 1747, emp. 1790, 

d. 1790. d 1792. 



55. Francis II., b. 1768, emp. 1792, 1st of Austria, 1804. 



56. Ferdinand Charles, emp. 1835. Maria Louisa, b. 1791 = Napoleon, 1810. 
HOLLAND. 

William III., on his accession to the throne of England in 1689, 
offered to the world the singular spectacle of a monarchy and a republic 
governed at the same time by the same individual; and in both capa- 
cities he was occupied with one absorbing motive, that of determined 
opposition to the power of Louis XIV. Hardly, therefore, was he 
seated in his newly acquired sovereignty, ere he appeared on the Con- 
tinent at the head of a confederacy embracing Germany, Spain, Great 



-100 MODERN HISTORY. 

Britain, and Holland. Various bloody but undecisive campaigns were 
fought ; and though unable to command that success which his military 
talents deserved, he had the rare fortune of appearing always as for- 
midable after defeat as he had been before action. This contest con- 
ferred a high reputation on the naval and military force of Holland ; but 
she had at the same time to lament an increase of public debt and the 
diminution of trade; while the peace of Ryswick, 1697, by which it 
was terminated, secured to her no advantages. Nevertheless, the states 
readily became parties to the Grand Alliance, 1701 ; and William was 
once more preparing to lead the armies of Europe against the French, 
when his death in the same year left his plans to be carried out by more 
fortunate leaders. 

Holland, however, did not neglect this opportunity of recurring to the 
old government of 1650: no new stadtholder was appointed; the su- 
preme authority was retained by the states-general, and Heinsius, the 
grand-pensioner, was intrusted with the active direction of affairs. This 
great man amply justified the confidence reposed in him; he ably co- 
operated with Marlborough and Prince Eugene in the long contest which 
followed ; and to his assistance and counsels were owing in no small 
degree those masterly combinations which resulted in the splendid 
triumphs of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. The 
peace of Utrecht, 1713, which secured to Holland a strong barrier of 
frontier fortresses, also saw the republic raised to her highest point of 
influence and greatness. Her powerful enemy had been humbled to the 
dust; her commerce had revived amidst the struggle; her finances were 
placed on a satisfactory footing; and surrounding states regarded her 
with envy or respect. 

For a period of thirty years after this treaty, the United Provinces 
enjoyed the unwonted blessing of peace, during which the states devoted 
their entire energies to internal reforms. They received into their pro- 
tection the persecuted sectaries of France, Germany, and Hungary ; and 
though the principle of toleration might seern to be violated in the expul- 
sion of the Jesuits, 1731, a Protestant country cannot well be blamed for 
a measure afterwards universally imitated even by Catholic states. In 
1732, the whole nation was overwhelmed with alarm, by the discovery 
that the beams and other wood-work employed in the construction of 
their dikes had been eaten through by some unknown species of marine 
grub; but the providential occurrence of a hard frost, by destroying 
these formidable insects, freed the country from a danger greater even 
than another war. The elements of a fresh contest were already in 
existence. In 17*29, the states had been induced to guarantee the Prag- 
matic Sanction, and on the death of Charles VI., 1740, they at once 
joined England in aid of his daughter, Maria Theresa, with a reinforce- 
ment of 20,000 men and a large subsidy. These allies gained the battle 
of Dettinoen, 1743 ; but Holland was once more exposed to invasion 
after the severe repulse at Fontenoy, 1744. In these circumstances, she 
again had recourse to the old expedient of elevating the house of Orange ; 
and, accordingly, the representative of that illustrious family, William 
IV., who had married a daughter of George II., was appointed stadt- 
holder, and the right of hereditary succession vested in the male and 
female line, 1747. 

The contest was concluded by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 461 

without loss to the country ; but, three years afterwards, amid her re- 
viving prosperity, Holland had to lament the death of her young chief. 
His son, William V., then an infant, succeeded under the guardianship 
of his mother; and, during his minority, the nation was able to remain 
neutral amid the storms of the seven years' war. This prince assumed 
the government in 1766; two years later, he married the Princess of 
Prussia, niece of Frederick the Great. But the anti-Orange faction had 
in the mean time again attained the ascendency, and a rankling jealousy 
of England sprung up in the national mind. This feeling led the Dutch 
to give an underhand aid to the revolted colonies in America, as also to 
join the armed neutrality of the northern powers; and the British, in 
return, declared war against them in 1780. In the four years' struggle 
that followed, Holland suffered severely in her commerce, and lost many 
valuable colonies, which were retained by Britain at the peace of 1784; 
while the emperor also took the opportunity to dismantle the barrier 
towns, 1781. The national discontent thus awakened, and the new 
theories set afloat during the contest, gave increased activity to the re- 
publican party ; and, in 1787, the states actually deprived William of 
all his appointments, while his consort, who had endeavoured to recon- 
cile the hostile parties, was unjustifiably arrested and treated as a pri- 
soner. The King of Prussia, in his sister's name, demanded an ample 
satisfaction ; on the refusal of which, a Prussian army of 20,000 men, 
under the Duke of Brunswick, marched into Holland. Amsterdam was 
besieged and forced to capitulate, when all the resolutions that had been 
taken against the stadth older were annulled, and he was reinstated in 
his former authority. But this period of recovered power was of short 
duration; an alliance with Prussia and England in 1788 being the 
ostensible cause of a declaration of war on the part of France in 1793. 
At the head of an army of 100,000 men, the republican general, Piche- 
gru, soon gained possession of the chief places in Flanders, 1794; and, 
taking advantage of an unusually severe winter, which froze the canals 
and arms of the sea, drove the Duke of York and his army from point 
to point, and speedily became master of the whole country. The Prince 
of Orange presented himself to the states-general at the Hague, into 
whose hands he resigned his dignities and retired to England ; and the 
United Provinces now changed their long-cherished form of government, 
and even their name, receiving, at the command of their Gallican masters, 
the novel designation of the Batavian Republic, 1795. 

DENMARK. 

The treaty of Stockholm, 1720, having secured to Frederick IV. all 
he could reasonably desire, the remainder of his life was passed in un- 
molested repose, during which he was enabled by economy and wise 
financial measures to reduce somewhat the extraordinary burdens which 
the war had rendered necessary. The most striking events that followed 
were the closing of the trade with Hamburg in 1726, and the occurrence 
of a fire in Copenhagen, which consumed about sixteen hundred and 
forty houses, thereby nearly destroying that capital, 1728. Frederick 
died in 1730, in the sixtieth year of his age, having the character of a 
wise and brave prince, fond of enterprise, but strongly disposed to pro- 
mote the welfare of his subjects. His son and successor, Christian 
39* 



462 MODERN HISTORY. 

VI., one of the most popular and patriotic sovereigns of Denmark, im- 
mediately abolished various monopolies in the sale of wine, brandy, 
salt, and tobacco, which had pressed heavily on the people; and with 
the view of still further stimulating commerce, he established the Asiatic 
Company in 1732, and four years after re-opened the trade with Ham- 
burg. At the same time, he renewed treaties of amity with Sweden and 
England, for the mutual protection of their dominions; with the view of 
promoting arts and manufactures, workmen were brought from various 
countries to instruct the people ; and the establishment of a royal bank 
proved of great advantage to the mercantile classes in the kingdom. 
Notwithstanding the repeal of various oppressive taxes, Christian con- 
trived to maintain his fleet and army on a respectable footing, as well 
as to restore the militia, which had been abolished ; and, although de- 
voted to a pacific policy, he was thus enabled to assume a vigorous 
warlike attitude, when events rendered it necessary. This prince also 
established regulations for the better celebration of religious service, and 
enjoined upon the great landed proprietors the obligation of founding a 
school in every village. The magnificent palace of Christiansburg, and 
the docks of Christianshaven, are among the chief monuments of his 
reign. 

Frederick V., 1746, succeeded to the virtues as well as the crown 
of his father ; and his internal management of affairs forms a brilliant 
sequel to the measures of that excellent prince, in which he was ably 
seconded by his minister, the great Bernstorf. Commerce and manufac- 
tures accordingly prospered more rapidly than ever, the national shipping 
being fully doubled in this reign ; intellectual culture became widely 
diffused; economy and judicious regulations placed the finances in a 
highly satisfactory condition; while various legislative measures pro- 
vided for the more prompt and regular administration of justice. In 
1743, the king espoused Louisa, daughter of George II. of England, an 
estimable personage; and, in 1749, the birth of a prince-royal diffused 
universal joy throughout the nation. On the death of the queen in 1751, 
another marriage was concluded with Juliana Maria of Brunswiok- 
Wolfenbuttel, a lady greatly inferior in every respect to her predecessor, 
and whose intrigues became afterwards the source of much evil in the 
reign of her step-son. In the wars which desolated the rest of Europe, 
Frederick took no part ; and though certain claims put forth to the duchy 
of Sleswick by the Czar Peter III. led to military demonstrations in 
1762, the dispute was amicably settled with Catherine II. in the same 
year. The rest of his life was spent in encouraging the arts and sciences ; 
and to him the Danish theatre is indebted for its origin. 

Christian VII., 1766, succeeded his father at the age of seventeen, 
and, though inheriting little either of his talents or virtues, signalized 
the commencement of his reign by a measure for the gradual abolition 
of vassalage throughout the kingdom. Immediately on his accession, 
he espoused Caroline Matilda, sister of George III. of England, an 
amiable and accomplished princess, whom he nevertheless treated with 
great harshness; and, in 1768, leaving her behind him, he set out on a 
tour of pleasure through Europe, in the course of which he received into 
his favour the celebrated Struensee, a physician of Ancona. On his 
return, this individual was raised to the dignity of a count, and to the 
office of pitme-minister, in which capacity he displayed considerable 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 463 

administrative ability. His influence over Christian enabled him lo re- 
concile that fickle prince to his consort; and, with her approbation, he 
afterwards introduced many reforms, beneficial in themselves, but which 
from their precipitancy irritated both the clergy and nobles. In these 
circumstances, the queen-dowager and her son Frederick plotted his 
ruin ; several injurious, and it would seem false accusations, were set 
afloat against both him and her majesty; and in 1772, the king was 
prevailed on to sign an order for the arrest of Caroline and her accom- 
plices. Struensee was thrown into prison and soon after beheaded, and 
the queen died in banishment at Zell in Hanover, 1775. 

For some years the queen-dowager and her faction possessed the 
entire control of affairs, Christian himself having fallen into a state of 
imbecility ; but, in 1784, his son Frederick, then only sixteen years old, 
succeeded in obtaining the regency, and raised Count Bernstorf, nephew 
of the former minister of that name, to the chief direction of affairs. 
The young prince exercised his authority with great moderation, firm- 
ness, and equity ; a number of abuses which had crept into the govern- 
ment were reformed ; and neutrality was maintained in the wars of 1788 
and 1793. In 1808, he succeeded his father by the title of Frederick VI. 

SWEDEN. 

Charles XII., 1697, was only fifteen years old when he ascended 
the throne ; and his extreme youth tempted three powerful neighbours 
to conspire in order to effect the dismemberment of his states, or at least 
the recovery of territories wrested from them by the valour of his prede- 
cessors. These aggressors were Frederick IV. of Denmark, Frederick 
Augustus, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, and Peter I. of Russia ; 
and, in the year 1700, they simultaneously invaded the Swedish do- 
minions at three different points. The young monarch renewed an 
alliance with England and Holland, from whom he received reinforce- 
ments, and putting himself at the head of his army, resolved on a vigor- 
ous defence of the kingdom. He immediately sailed with his troops 
for Copenhagen, attacked that city, and in a few weeks obliged the 
King of Denmark to sign the peace of Travendahl. He next turned his 
attention to the Russians, who were besieging Narva, a town in Ingria; 
and on the 30th November, having under him only 8000 soldiers, totally 
routed them, though ten times that number. Augustus, who had fruit- 
lessly invested Riga, now only remained : the Swedes passed the Dwina 
in spite of all opposition, and, in an incredibly short space of time, 
became masters of the whole of Courland. The youthful conqueror now 
openly declared his intention of dethroning the King of Poland, and 
conferring the sovereignty of that country upon Stanislaus Leezinski, 
palatine of Posnania ; a design in which he was seconded by several 
discontented noblemen, and which Augustus in vain endeavoured to 
avert by negotiation. In 1702, that ruler was defeated, after a severe 
contest, at Clissau, and at Pultusk m the following year ; the Polish 
diet proclaimed Stanislaus in 1704 ; and at the beginning of 1707, the 
other was compelled to make a formal resignation of his crown, with 
permission merely to retain his Saxon dominions. 

The eyes of all Europe were now directed towards the camp of Charles 
a* Leipsic, where, at the head of 50,000 veterans, he received ambassa- 



464 MODERN HISTORY. 

dors from the principal powers, and even dictated to the emperor condi- 
tions by which the Protestants in Silesia were secured in the free exer- 
cise of their religion. But he felt little interest in the politics of central 
Europe, his views being turned towards the north, where his great object 
was the dethronement of his rival, Peter of Russia. He accordingly set 
out for Muscovy in September 1707, defeated the czar in the following 
May on the banks of the Berezina, and, by the end of September, pene- 
trated as far as Smolensk. The approaching rigours of the season, 
however, compelled him to abandon his design of marching upon Mos^ 
cow, and to retreat towards the Ukraine, where Mazeppa, hetmann of 
the Cossacks, had promised to join him. Here Charles passed the 
winter, during which, besides the loss of his artillery and wagons, he 
had to lament the interception of a reinforcement of 15,000 men, and the 
entire dispersion of his expected allies. In the spring of 1709, with an 
army greatly reduced in number, he was compelled to give battle to 
70,000 Russians led by Peter in person, under the walls of Pultowa, 
which ended in the total defeat of" his brave followers, 9000 of whom 
perished on the field of battle. This decisive event annihilated the 
ascendency of Sweden : the vanquished monarch took refuge in Turkey ; 
Denmark and Poland annulled the treaties they had made ; Augustus 
returned to Warsaw ; and the conqueror kept possession of Livonia. 

Instead of immediately returning to defend his dominions, Charles 
unaccountably persisted in remaining five years in his Turkish asylum, 
spending the time in fruitless intrigues to foment a war between that 
country and Russia, while his inveterate enemies in the north were 
ravaging his continental provinces, and destroying his best troops. At 
length, in October 1714, he left Turkey, and crossing Hungary and 
Germany, arrived at Stralsand, where he immediately took the field 
against Prussia, Denmark, Saxony, and Russia. After various military 
operations, he succeeded, through the exertions of his minister, Baron de 
Gortz, in forming an alliance with Peter; but he still pursued the war 
against the Danes, and in 1718 sat down before Frederickshall in the 
middle of winter, where his adventurous career was terminated by a shot 
from one of the enemy's batteries. This event produced an immediate 
revolution in the aspect of affairs. The senate, accusing Gortz as the 
author of the calamities afflicting the nation, had that minister tried and 
executed ; while the late king's sister, Ulrica Eleanora, was raised to 
the throne, but compelled to renounce its absolute prerogatives as well 
as the hereditary right of succession. Treaties of peace were at the 
same time set on foot: in 1719 the duchies of Bremen and Verden were 
ceded to Hanover, in consideration of one million of rix-dollars ; a 
similar payment of two millions secured Pomerania-Anterior to Prussia, 
1720; Denmark agreed to restore some of her conquests on receiving a 
pecuniary compensation, and retaining her right to the Sound dues , 
Augustus was acknowledged the legitimate sovereign of Poland, to the 
exclusion of Stanislaus; while Russia, after some renewed military 
operations extremely disastrous to Sweden, signed a peace at Nystadt, 
1721, by which she obtained Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Viborg, and 
part of Carelia, but agreed to resign Finland, and pay two millions of 
rix-dollars. 

Previously to the conclusion of these pacific measures, the queer* had 
resolved on having her husband, Frederick of Hesse-Cassel, associated 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 465 

with her in the sovereignty; and in May 1720 the royal authority, 
greatly limited, was intrusted to him with consent of the diet. The 
king, nevertheless, was able to exert himself successfully for the re- 
establishment of order and prosperity ; abuses were investigated, com- 
merce restored, mines and manufactures encouraged, the treasury was 
replenished, the country placed anew in a competent state of defence, 
and in 1731 a trading company to the East Indies was established. 
But the seeds of disunion had been sown in the very liberal constitution 
lately formed ; and on the meeting of the diet in 1738, two factions 
appeared, known by the fantastic appellations of the Hats and Caps, who 
mutually attacked each other with great bitterness. The latter party 
were favourable to peace on any terms, and to the new order of things; 
while the former, preferring the old system of government, exclaimed 
against the late treaty with Russia ; and these last, having gained a 
considerable majority, succeeded in provoking a rupture with the court 
of St. Petersburg, 1741. The event soon proved the folly of this new 
contest : various bloody engagements took place in Finland ; in almost 
every one of which the enemy proved victorious; and in 1743, it was 
terminated by the peace of Abo, the Swedes consenting to nominate 
Adolphus Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, a relative -of the Russian em- 
press, as the successor of their sovereign. 

The prince just named distinguished his accession to the throne by 
various useful measures, 1751 ; but he was much disturbed by the dis- 
putes of the rival Hat and Cap factions. In 1757, he was led to take 
part against Prussia in the seven years' war, a contest in which the 
Swedes were exposed to many reverses, and which ended little to their 
advantage. He was succeeded in 1771 by his son Gustavus III., who 
at length, gaining the attachment of the citizens, peasantry, and clergy, 
succeeded in overawing the imperious council of state by means of the 
military force; and in 1772, a new constitution was introduced, vesting 
the legislative power in the states, but limited to such measures only as 
originated with the crown. This revolution, however, w T as far from 
settling the disputes of the nation, or firmly establishing the royal 
authority ; so that, in 1788, on the king engaging in hostilities against 
Russia, the officers of his army refused to act, on the plea that he was 
not authorized to declare offensive war. This question having been 
settled in 1789, by a resolution of the diet investing the sovereign with 
discretionary power in this respect, the contest continued to be prose- 
cuted ; and in 1790, his fleet gained a splendid victory over the Russians 
near Svenkasund, forty- two ships being either taken or destroyed, an 
event which led to a peace in the same year. Gustavus afterwards be- 
came a party to the views of the convention of Pilnitz, 1791, intending 
to lead a northern army into France, when his career was cut short by 
a conspiracy of the discontented nobles, who procured his assassination 
at a masked ball, 1792. He was succeeded by his son Gustavus IV., 
under the regency of the Duke of Sudermania. 

POLAND. 

On the death of John Sobieski, the Polish crown became an object 
of contention among various candidates ; but bribery and force at length 
decided the election in favour of Augustus II., elector of Saxony, 1697, 



466 MODERN HISTORY. 

who, by the peace of Carlowitz, two years after, gained some valuable 
territorial cessions from the Turks. In 1700, he joined Russia and 
Denmark in a league against Charles XII. ; but the war which followed, 
already noticed under Sweden, instead of securing his ambitious designs, 
exposed his kingdom to invasion, and he was himself forced to abdicate 
in favour of Stanislaus Leczinski. T 07. The battle of Pultowa, how- 
ever, and the overthrow of the Swedish power, 1709, enabled him to 
displace Stanislaus and recover his position ; but the country had, as 
usual, suffered severely in these struggles, and its i liseries were greatly 
aggravated by his repeated efforts to obtain absolute ithority, and the 
unsparing persecution which he directed against the dissenters from the 
Catholic faith. On his death in 1733, the electorate of Saxony fell to 
his son Augustus III., who on this ground had also strong pretensions 
to the crown of Poland ; and though the people in general declared for 
Stanislaus, who was supported by France, the armies of Russia enabled 
him to make good his claims, which were finally recognised by the diet 
in 1736. Instigated by his minister, Count Bruhl, the king took part in 
the various contests then agitating Germany, sometimes siding with one 
party and sometimes with another ; while the nation, gradually falling 
under Russian influence, lost the respect of surrounding states, and be- 
came a prey to all the evils of internal anarchy. 

On the death of Augustus in 1763, the diet, assembled at Warsaw to 
choose a successor, exhibited a disgraceful scene of contention ; Cathe- 
rine, on pretence of preserving the peace, sent a body of troops into the 
country ; and next year Stanislaus Poniatowski, the candidate whom 
she favoured, was of course elected. At this time, chiefly through the 
efforts of two brothers, the Princes Czartoriski, who desired a more 
stable government, the executive power of the monarch was somewhat 
strengthened, while the excessive privileges of the nobles were restricted; 
but Catherine, w T ho had no intention of aiding in the improvement of 
Poland, soon exerted herself to nullify the effect of these measures. 
Animosities broke out between the Catholic party and that of the dis- 
sidents, who demanded an equality of rights ; the latter received the 
support of the czarina and the King of Prussia; and in the diet of 1768, 
in addition to the equitable law of replacing all christian sects upon an 
equal footing, various regulations were adopted tending to weaken the 
government, while the acceptance of a Russian guarantee declared that 
state of things immutable. These proceedings, and disgust at the 
foreign domination under which the country had fallen, led to a con- 
federation of the Catholic party, headed by the Bishop of Kamienetz ; 
and a civil war, combined with one against the Russian intruders, 
agitated the unhappy country. The confederation, ill supported, and 
without regular troops, struggled hopelessly some years against the 
foreign armies ; while the Ottomans, who had taken the field in favour 
of Poland, after in vain representing to the cabinets of Europe the 
dangers of Russian predominance in that country, were defeated in 
several battles. 

The Three Partitions. — The time had now arrived for the execu- 
tion of a project first conceived by Frederick of Prussia, — the tran- 
quillizing of Poland by its dismemberment. Accordingly, in 1772, a 
scheme of partition was agreed on between him, Catherine, and Maria 
Theresa ; some ridiculous old claims were revived ; the king and people, 



a. d. 467 

aled to justice, f< r the remain 

edition to interfere. By this? 

divided among these imperial 

and Lodomiria ; Russia, the territories 

bt and the Drutseh ; and Frederick, the 

who. lantzic and Thorn, together with the 

district - ,V2$ cv.Jled to sanction the final disruption 

of their c , coerced by foreign armies and bribed by foreign 

gold, a maj.- ji (Voices was found to sanction this achievement of 

fraud and violen } 

This great calamity had some effect in arousing the nation, which 
now sought to compensate its heavy loss by internal improvements. 
The king, though left with littlebeyond the mere shadow of authority, 
seconded by several distinguished individuals, earnestly strove to ame- 
liorate the condition of the country : an excellent system of education 
was introduced, literature received encouragement, and industry revived. 
The diet, having assembled in 1788, declared itself permanent, and con- 
tinued till 1791, when it proclaimed a new constitution, which abolished 
the veto, made the crown hereditary in the Saxon family on the decease 
of the reigning monarch, and introduced some useful regulations. But 
a fatal error was committed in neglecting to organize a national force 
capable of protecting the new arrangements ; and Russia, which had 
guaranteed the former state of things, gave her aid to a confederation of 
factious nobles at Targovitza, in order to restore them. A civil war 
followed, in which the king himself at length deserted to the enemy ; 
while the Prussian monarch, though he had encouraged the patriots to 
frame the new constitution, joined the Russians in an invasion of the 
country. The consequence was a second partition of the Polish terri- 
tory, 1793, by which Russia gained 85,000 square miles, and Prussia 
21,000, together with the towns of Dantzic and Thorn. 

The wretched remnant of Poland, amounting to only 85,000 square 
miles, now became a mere Russian dependency. The confederates of 
TaTgovitza, to whose treason this second dismemberment was owing, 
encouraged by the presence of Russian troops, persecuted the patriots in 
every possible manner, and many of the chief persons among them were 
driven into exile. But these adverse circumstances had not yet quelled 
the national spirit; insurrections broke out in many places, and an ex- 
tensive conspiracy was finally organized. In 1794, Kosciusko, who 
had gone abroad at the time of the first partition, returned, and placing 
himself at the head of a body of peasants rudely armed, took possession 
of Cracow, and soon after put to flight a superior number of enemies ; 
the people of Warsaw, then occupied by a strong Russian force, expelled 
their oppressors, after a bloody contest ; and their example was followed 
by the inhabitants of Wilna. The hopes of the patriots were not a little 
animated by the King of Prussia's failure before the capital ; but their 
preservation was connected with one man, and his destiny decided 
theirs. Kosciusko was defeated, wounded, and taken prisoner by the 
Russians ; Praga, a principal suburb, was stormed by Suwarrow, and 
all the inhabitants put to the sword. Finally, Warsaw itself capitulated ; 
and, in 1795, the remainder of the ill-fated country was divided by 
Russia, Prussia, and Austria; while the king, deprived of the regal 
title, subsisted at St. Petersburg upon a pension. Thus, while protest- 



468 m 

ing against the horrors of tl. 
perpetrated the most barefac 
history, after having by the v 
actually produce, those very disoroers 
their aggressions. 

PRUSSL 

The original nucleus of this great and prospers „ province 

of Brandenburg, a district first inhabited by the Suev., quently, on 

the southern migrations of that tribe, by a race of Sclavon. v r andal origin. 

Under Charlemagne and his successors, the provinces on the outskirts of the 
empire, called marks or marches, were administered by governors, who were at 
the same time supreme judges or grafs, whence they derived their title of 
margrave (march-graf) ; and these dignities, at first held for life only, ultimately 
became hereditary fiefs. Between 1230 and 1283, the district of Prussia Pro- 
per was conquered by the Teutonic Knights, an order of military monks 
resembling that of Malta ; various adjacent territories subsequently fell under 
their sway ; but in the end, after a long series of contests, they became feu- 
dally subject to Poland. Brandenburg, meanwhile, under successive rulers, 
made some figure among the smaller German principalities; till at length 
Frederick, burgrave of Nuremberg and count of Hohenzollern, obtained from 
the Emperor Sigismund the dignity of hereditary elector, 1411, and gave rise 
to a race of princes to whose talents and wisdom the country owes the high 
rank it has since attained among European sovereignties. In 1525, under the 
Elector Albert, who was also grandmaster of the Teutonic knights, the lands 
of the order were secularized, and the Lutheran faith introduced ; when Prussia 
became a hereditary ducal fief in his family, dependent on the Polish crown. 
The true foundations of Prussian greatness, however, were laid by Frederick- 
William, the great elector, 1640, whose energetic, just, and patriotic adminis- 
tration, and the ability with which he conducted himself in the northern wars 
of the period, enabled him to strengthen and consolidate his dominions, and 
eventually, in 1660, to become an independent prince. By the revocation of 
the edict of Nantes and other religious persecutions of the period, he received 
a large accession of intelligent and industrious subjects; and at his death in 
1688, he left the country greatly augmented in wealth, power, and extent. 

The son of Frederick-William continued some years to administer 
the government by the simple title of elector ; but, in 1701, on condition 
of assisting the Emperor Leopold in the war of the Spanish succession, 
he obtained formal permission to assume the regal crown as Frederick 
I. On this occasion he founded the order of the Black Eagle; and his 
armies were subsequently greatly distinguished at the battles of Turin 
and Blenheim. He was succeeded in 1713 by his son, Frederick- 
William I., who, by the peace of Utrecht, signed the same year, gained 
Spanish Guelderland, and the Swiss canton of Neuchatel. His atten- 
tion was chiefly directed to financial reforms, as well as to the increase 
and discipline of the military force; and, continuing to facilitate the 
settlement of industrious foreigners, he erected various public buildings 
and charitable institutions. In 1715, after the return of Charles XII. 
from Turkey, he was compelled by the arrogance of that monarch to 
join the northern league against Sweden ; and though the warlike opera- 
tions presented no event of importance, Prussia again secured a con- 
siderable accession of territory by the peace of 1720L At his death in 
the year 1740, Frederick-William left 9,000,000 of dollars in the 
treasury, a regular army of 70,000 men, and a territory containing about 
40,000 square miles, with a population of 2,240,000. 

Frederick II., surnamed the Great, and one of the most remarKable 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 469 

men of his time, had received a military education in his father's court, 
which was one large camp, and imbibed from his tutor, M. Duhan, a 
high relish for philosophical speculations. He ascended the throne at 
the age of twenty-eight, shortly before the accession of Maria Theresa 
to the Austrian dominions ; and this event at once afforded him an op- 
portunity of displaying his ambition and great talents for war. The 
contest itself, known as that of the Austrian succession, has been no- 
ticed under Germany ; it may therefore suffice to state, that during it 
the king and his armies acquired a high degree of martial renown, and 
its termination, so far as Prussia was concerned, by the peace of Dres- 
den, 1745, left him in possession of the valuable province of Silesia. A 
short time previously, his territories had been augmented by the district 
of East Friesland, which fell to him on the death of the last count in 
1743. For eleven years after this period, Frederick employed himself 
with great activity in the administration of internal affairs, the organisa- 
tion of his forces, and literary pursuits. Aided by his chancellor, 
Cocceii, he framed a valuable body of laws for his dominions, known 
as the " Code of Frederick ;" and, though engaged in various other 
works, he found leisure to visit most parts of the country, endeavouring 
to stimulate agriculture, arts, and manufactures. By great improvements 
in the revenues, he was able to maintain 160,000 soldiers ; while large 
sums were expended on his palaces at Berlin and Potsdam, and in erect- 
ing many splendid edifices in these two cities. 

Seven Years' War, 1756. — The king was soon summoned from these 
peaceful pursuits to defend himself in a struggle threatening the very 
existence of Prussia as an independent sta'te. On the breaking out of 
the colonial war between England and France, he was induced to enter 
into a treaty with the former for the security of Hanover; while the in- 
trigues of Louis and the jealousy of the emperor led to a secret alliance 
between these powers, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony, having in view 
nothing short of the partition of his dominions. This scheme speedily 
came to the knowledge of Frederick, who at once entered the last named 
country and made himself master of Dresden ; and his progress to Bo- 
hemia being opposed by the elector, he defeated him, and compelled the 
beaten soldiers to enlist into his own army. In 1757, he advanced into 
Bohemia, where he gained a signal victory near Prague over the Aus- 
trians under Prince Charles of Lorraine and Count Brown ; that city 
was immediately invested ; but a fresh army under Marshal Daun de- 
feated the Prussians in their turn at Kolin, and compelled them to retreat. 
Meanwhile, the French obliged the Duke of Cumberland to abandon 
Hanover, the Russians and Swedes invaded Prussia from the north, and 
a combined French and German army marched into Saxony. The 
Prussian monarch immediately attacked this latter force, twice as 
numerous as his own, at the village of Rosbach, and subjected it to a 
complete and most disgraceful overthrow ; the Austrians, who had de- 
feated the Prince of Bevern and taken Breslau, were vanquished at 
Lissa, and their conquest recovered ; the Russians were forced to retreat 
for want of supplies ; the Swedes were driven under the walls of Stral- 
sund ; while the Hanoverians rose against the French, and assembled a 
large force under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick to aid the king. 

These successes, and a British subsidy of £670,000, granted annually, 
would have placed the affairs of Frederick in a favourable position, but 
40 



470 MODERN HISTORY. 

for the inveterate enmity of the Empress Elizabeth. In 1758, the prin- 
cipal event was the sanguinary battle at Zorndorf, in which the Russians 
were defeated, but with immense loss on both sides. Next year, Prince 
Ferdinand repulsed the French at Minden, and saved Hanover; the 
king himself, resolving to stop the progress of the combined Austrian 
and Russian armies, attacked them at Kunersdorf, where he was defeat- 
ed after a horrible carnage ; but, by great military skill, he almost im- 
mediately after forced them to act on the defensive. However, in 1760, 
the enemy was able to enter Brandenburg and occupy Berlin, which 
was only saved from plunder by paying a heavy contribution; but that 
city being soon evacuated, Frederick again entered Saxony, and defeated, 
the Austrians under Daun at Torgau. Still, notwithstanding these suc- 
cesses, his resources were melting away; and, in 1761, he was able to 
do little more than watch the movements of the enemy from an intrench- 
ed camp in Siles : x. In these circumstances, the death of Elizabeth, in 
the beginning of 1762, relieved him from his apparently desperate situa- 
tion. Her successor, Peter III., who admired the heroic character of 
Frederick, formed an alliance with him, which was subsequently con- 
firmed by Catherine ; and he was thereby enabled to maintain himself 
successfully against Austria, while Prince Ferdinand in Westphalia, 
and the English fleets at sea, completely prostrated the power of France. 
Peace was finally concluded in 1763 : that between Prussia and Austria 
was signed at Hubertsburg, and left matters in the same condition as 
before. 

The result of this sanguinary struggle, while it afforded an unavailing 
lesson on the wickedness* and impolicy of such conflicts, secured to 
Prussia a decisive influence in European affairs; and the monarch now 
seriously strove to repair the evils which the war had inflicted on his 
dominions. The chief events of his foreign policy have been noticed 
under Germany and Poland, the part taken in the first partition of the 
latter country being the least defensible of his acts ; but it is at all events 
gratifying to know that his internal administration secured for all his 
subjects a rapid increase of prosperity. At his death in 1786, he left his 
kingdom nearly doubled in extent, upwards of 10,000,000 sterling in the 
treasury, and an army of 200,000 men. 

Frederick was an avowed unbeliever in revelation, and made little secret 
during his life of the contempt in which he held religious institutions. He 
entertained a high admiration for Voltaire, with whom he maintained a close 
intimacy ; and his own works, which are voluminous and respectable, were 
composed in the French language, and deeply imbued with the sceptical philo- 
sophy of which that writer is the great apostle. Being thus destitute of fix^d 
principles of action, his political and moral conduct was of course directed by 
the expediency of the moment, his own pleasure and interest appearing to be 
the ruling motives. Essentially a despot, but an intelligent and far-sighted one, 
he defended his dominions with valour, because he felt he was fighting for him- 
self; and his successful efforts for their internal improvement seem to have 
sprung in a great measure from a similar impulse. Nevertheless, he has been 
regarded in Germany with admiration, nor can his own subjects be blamed for 
the enthusiasm which associates with his memory the title of " the Great." 

Frederick-William II. succeeded his uncle under very favourable 
circumstances, and proved himself on the whole a respectable sovereign. 
His chief public act, in addition to the share taken by him in the infa- 
mous partitions of Poland, was the crusade against the French republi 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 471 

.jans, 1792, when fifty thousand men under the Duke of Brunswick were 
sent to the frontiers of France ; but the failure of this expedition led to a 
peace in 1795. During this reign, the Margrave of Anspach and Baireuth 
resigned his territories to Prussia for an annuity of 500,000 florins. This 
prince was succeeded in 1797 by his son, Frederick-William III., who 
at the commencement of his reign endeavoured to maintain peace and 
encourage industry and the arts. 

RUSSIA. 

The return of Peter from his foreign travels was hastened by an in- 
surrection of the Strelitzes in Moscow, fomented by his sister Sophia;* 
but it was suppressed before his arrival by a body of faithful troops 
under General Gordon, and that turbulent corps was abolished by the 
czar, who caused numbers of them to be executed. The most important 
transaction in the reign of this monarch was the war undertaken with 
Poland and Denmark against Sweden, which he began in 1700 by the 
siege of Narva. Here the military inferiority of the Russians was con- 
spicuously shown, 80,000 of them being totally defeated by 8000 Swedes ; 
but this overthrow only stimulated the genius of their sovereign, who 
immediately set about repairing the disaster, observing that the Swedes 
would yet teach his soldiers to vanquish them. While Charles XII. 
was occupied in Poland and Saxony, he made himself master of Ingria 
and Carelia; in 1702, he took the town of Marienburg; and in the fol- 
lowing year laid the foundations of St. Petersburg, which eventually 
became the seat of the imperial government, j In the ensuing years he 
overran Livonia and Esthonia; and at length, in 1709, the Swedish 
king, having rashly inarched into the Ukraine, sustained a total over- 
throw at Pultowa, from an army led by Peter in person, and was forced 
to seek an asylum in Turkey. 

In 1696, the czar divorced his first wife, who had borne him one son, 
Alexis; in 1711, he married his mistress, Catherine Alexina, a native 
of Livonia, who had risen by a series of extraordinary adventures from 
the very lowest rank. . By this time the intrigues of Charles XII. had 
procured a declaration of war against Russia on the part of the Porte; 
and Peter led an army into Moldavia, which, encamping on the banks 
of the Pruth, was surrounded by the enemy, and exposed to imminent 
danger. From this perilous position he was relieved by the address of 
his empress, who succeeded, unknown to him, in bribing the grand 
vizier to agree to a negotiation, which was at once concluded by the 
surrender of Azof to the Turks. Hostilities with Sweden now continued 
to be prosecuted with great success, so that, by the end of 1713, that 
country had been stripped of every position which could prove annoying 
to the new metropolis of Russia. Subsequently, in the hope of obtain- 

* This princess, who seems to have been of an ambitious disposition, had already 
caused much annoyance to Peter, by attempting to obtain a share of the government 
through her brother Ivan : she was now condemned to permanent seclusion. 

fin 1713 the senate was removed from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and the czar's sum- 
mer and winter palaces were completed two years after. At one period no fewer than 
40,000 men were employed in constructing dockyards, building ships, wharfs, and fortifi- 
cations ; every means was employed to direct trade into this new channel ; and, under 
these favourable circumstances, the swampy banks of the Neva were speedily crowned 
with the edifices of a great city, which has become an emporium of vast commerce 
and wealtn. 



472 MODERN HISTORY. 

ing Mecklenburg, he dissolved the Northern League, and formed an 
alliance with Sweden ; but the contest being again renewed, was at 
length terminated by the peace of Nystadt, 1721, which secured to him 
the undisputed possession of all his conquests. The senate at this time 
proclaimed Peter I. " Emperor of all the Russias," and conferred on him 
the merited title of the Great. 

The monarch now turned his undivided attention to the arts of peace. 
He encouraged the manufacture of woollen and linen cloth, erected mills, 
projected navigable canals, instituted hospitals, established uniformity 
of weights and measures, and made every exertion to civilize the man- 
ners of his subjects. These praiseworthy exertions were only partially 
interrupted by an expedition conducted in person against Persia in 1723, 
by which, in a single campaign, he acquired the provinces of Ghilan, 
Mazanderan, and Astrabad. In the same year, he founded the Academy 
of Sciences at St. Petersburg, caused Catherine to be crowned, and 
married his eldest daughter to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. His death 
took place on the 28th January 1725. 

The character of Peter the Great, though displaying many inconsistencies, 
was strongly marked with sound sense and clear judgment. That he some- 
times suffered himself to be swayed by passion and prejudice, and exhibited 
many of the failings common to the possessors of irresponsible power, cannot 
be doubted ; but the former fault may be fairly attributed to his very defective 
education, the latter was of course the result of his position. As to the signal 
benefits he conferred on his hitherto barbarous empire, there can be but one 
opinion. " He gave a polish," says Voltaire, " to his people, and was himself 
barbarous ; he taught them the art of war, which he himself had never learnt ; 
from the sight of a small boat on the river Moskva, he created a powerful fleet, 
and became an active shipwright, sailor, pilot, and commander ; he reformed 
the manners, customs, and laws of the Russians, and lives in their memory as 
the Father of his country." 

The prince Alexis had given great disquietude to his father by his 
rebellious and dissolute conduct, and at length died in prison in 1718. 
Prince Menzikof, who had risen from obscurity to be governor of St. 
Petersburg, accordingly took the opportunity to proclaim Catherine as 
the successor of her husband ; and during her reign he possessed unlim- 
ited authority. The empress, however, survived little more than two 
years, and in 1727 was succeeded by Peter II., son of Alexis. The 
short reign of this prince presents nothing remarkable, save the downfall 
of Menzikof, who was arrested and sent to Siberia, where he died in 
pov ty, 1729. Next year, Anne, daughter of Ivan, the elder brother 
of i '< * r the Great, was called to the throne, by the influence of a faction 
among the nobles, headed by the Dolgoruki family, on signing an 
agreement limiting the imperial authority ; but this document was imme- 
diately cancelled by the advice of Chancellor Ostermann, the Dolgo- 
rukis w r ere exiled to Siberia, and the empress ruled w T ith absolute power. 
In this reign the Persian conquests of Peter were relinquished ; but the 
election to the Polish crown was decided, in 1733, by the interference 
of a Russian army, and a war against the Porte, in alliance with Aus- 
tria, amply avenged the convention of the Pruth, Azof being recovered 
1739. Anne died in the following year, leaving the throne to her grand- 
nephew Ivan, a child two months old ; but this arrangement was speedily 
set aside by the Russians, who proclaimed Elizabeth, daughter of Peter 
I. by Catherine, 1710. At the end of three years, this princess acquired 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 473 

part of Finland from Sweden; in 1747, she sent an army of 36,000 
auxiliaries to the aid of Maria Theresa ; her interference in the seven 
years' war has already been noticed. She died in 1762, regretted by her 
subjects, to whom she was endeared by the mildness of her domestic 
rule, and was succeeded by her nephew, Peter III., duke of Holstein- 
Gottorp. This prince had his choice of the crowns of Sweden and 
Russia ; he unfortunately preferred the latter, where several well-meant 
but hasty innovations led to a conspiracy, fomented by his own consort 
Catherine, by which he was deposed at the end of six months. He 
died in prison a few days afterwards, as is believed by poison ; when 
his widow was called to the throne by the unanimous voice of the army 
and the people. 

The accession of this able and unscrupulous princess at once impressed 
on the policy of her empire the aggressive character which it has ever 
since retained. She immediately began a course of secret intrigue and 
open interference in the affairs of Poland, which finally led to the parti- 
tion of that country ; while a war with the Porte, consequent on these 
measures, 1768, secured some signal triumphs to her arms. A Russian 
fleet now appeared for the first time in the Mediterranean, and defeated 
the Turkish navy at Tchesme ; the land forces, under Galliczin and 
Romanzow, subdued Crim-Tartary, Moldavia, and Wallachia; and at 
length, by a peace in 1774, she procured large acquisitions, and com- 
pelled her opponents to acknowledge the independence of the Crim- 
Tartars. About this time the administration was placed on a new foot- 
ing, by the division of the empire into forty-three governments, with 
separate jurisdictions, and by the gradual promulgation of a new code 
of laws ; the vast tracts of the interior were colonized, and about 200 
towns built by Potemkin, who became supreme minister in 1770. In 
1780, Catherine organized the famous Armed Neutrality of the northern 
powers, to resist the right of search claimed by Great Britain ; the refusal 
of that country to sanction the project of founding a new Greek empire 
at Constantinople, on the ruins of Turkey, having, as is supposed, pro- 
voked her indignation. At all events, she speedily renewed her 
encroachments towards the east, Crim-Tartary being seized and incor- 
porated with her dominions in 1784 ; and this appropriation, though 
unopposed at the time, led eventually to a fresh contest, 1789, memora- 
ble for the sanguinary triumphs of Potemkin and Suwarrow, the Em- 
peror Joseph also taking part in it. Choczim, Oczakow, h-ender, and 
Ismail, were successively taken, with fearful slaughter; the peace of 
Jassy, 1792, established the Dniester as the boundary of the two 
states ; while a short war with Gustavus of Sweden, who endeavoured 
to produce a diversion in favour of the Porte, had been terminated two 
years before without any territorial change. 

During these contests, the attention of the empress was always 
steadily directed towards Poland, of which she had seized a portion in 
1772; and now, freed from other enemies, she effected the second parti- 
tion, 1793. The breaking out of the French Revolution produced a 
change in her sentiments toward the cabinet of London, with which she 
formed a commercial treaty ; but the contests of Western Europe had no 
effect in retarding the grand aim of her policy, the final extinction of 
Polish nationality, which was at length effected in 1795. She died in 
the following year 
40* 



474 MODERN HISTORY. 

Paul I., 1796, after two years spent in various whimsical innovations, 
joined zealously in the second grand coalition against France; and the 
Russian forces, under Suwarrow and Korsakow, obtained a series of 
brilliant triumphs in Italy and Switzerland during the campaign of 1799. 
His capricious disposition, however, soon induced him to abandon the 
cause of the allies, and conclude a peace with Bonaparte ; and, in 1800, 
he became head of a union which revived the Armed Neutrality of the 
North, as before, in avowed hostility to England. 

TURKEY. 

The humiliating peace of Carlowitz, 1699, the conclusion of a long 
train of disasters, proved fatal to the authority of Mustapha II., who 
was deposed by an insurrection of the janissaries, and his brother, 
Achmet III., succeeded to the unenviable dignity, 1702. His reign 
presents no event of importance till 1709, when he gave an asylum to 
Charles XII., after the defeat, at Pultowa; and subsequently, in a brief 
campaign against Peter the Great, recovered Azof by the peace of the 
Pruth, 1711. But a period of repose was at no time very desirable for 
the Turkish sultans, who found in their own mutinous soldiers the 
most formidable enemies of the throne. Accordingly, though no advan- 
tage had been taken of Austria in the Spanish succession war, the first 
opportunity was seized for a rupture with Venice, whose possession of 
the Morea galled the pride of the Ottomans'; and, in 1715, that republic 
was stripped of all the fortresses she held in the peninsula. This con- 
quest provoked the interference of the Emperor Charles VI., as guaran- 
tee of the treaty of Carlowitz, and precipitated another Hungarian war. 
In 1716, the army of the sultan was defeated by Prince Eugene at Pe- 
terwaradin, and Temeswar reduced ; and in the following campaign, 
another bloody overthrow before Belgrade was followed by the loss of 
that important fortress. Alarmed at these reverses, the sultan sued for 
peace, which was signed at Passarowitz, 1718 ; and by the terms then 
agreed on, he was forced to confirm the conquests of Austria, but suc- 
ceeded in retaining the Morea. Achmet now turned his eyes towards 
Persia, then agitated by the troubles consequent on the Afghan usurpa- 
tion; and in 1727 he seized the districts of Georgia and Armenia. 
Some time after, however, Nadir, having defeated the Turkish forces in 
several encounters, the unhappy prince shared the fate of so many of his 
predecessors, being deposed and imprisoned in 1730. 

AIahmoud I., nephew of the preceding ruler, was at first greatly 
harassed by the leaders of the late insurrection, who, however, were even- 
tually ensnared by his policy, and punished with death. The war with 
Persia was prosecuted for some time with considerable success; but the 
death of his commander, Osman, at length turned the tide in favour of 
the shah, who restored the original boundaries of the two countries 
1736. This peace had been accelerated by the threatening attitude ot 
Russia, which speedily commenced hostilities by an irruption into the 
Crimea; while the emperor, who at first offered his mediation, actuated 
by a selfish policy, began an invasion on his own account. This per- 
fidious conduct was justly punished by several disastrous defeats; 
Belgrade was taken, and the Danube and Saave became once more the 
boundary of the two countries; while the Russians, though generally 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 475 

successful, consented to surrender their conquests, demolish the fortress 
of Azof, and relinquish all claim to navigate the Black Sea, 1739. 
After a reign prosperous on the whole, Mahmoud died in 1745, and was 
succeeded °by his brother, Osman III., whose history is chiefly remark- 
able for an attempt to poison his nephews, sons of the late sultan : two 
of these princes fell victims to his jealousy ; Mustapha and Abdul-hamid 
escaped only by the death of their uncle. 

Mustapha III., 1757, aided by his able and enlightened vizier, Mo- 
hammed Raghib, devoted the first ten years of his reign to the restora- 
tion of order and energy in his domestic government. But the continued 
encroachments of Catherine II., who paid no attention to the treaty of 
1739, and her dangerous ascendency in Poland, at length compelled the 
sultan to declare for war, and led to the disastrous contest of 1768. In 
1774, Abdul-hamid succeeded to the throne, and immediately afterwards 
signed the peace of Kainardge, the most humiliating ever yet submitted 
to by Turkey ; and, though the independence of the Crimea had been 
guaranteed by this treaty, he was unable to prevent the appropriation of 
that district by his ambitious neighbour, 1784. But continued insults 
on the part of Catherine, who with the Emperor Joseph had formed the 
design of dividing between them the Ottoman dominions, as they had 
already partitioned those of Poland, again drove the sultan, in despair, 
to take up arms, 1787. The Austrians, who assaulted Belgrade without 
even the formality of a declaration of war, were repulsed on all sides, 
and the vizier, entering the Bannat, spread consternation to the very 
gates of Vienna. The Russians, however, were more successful ; the 
Ottoman fleet was destroyed in the Dnieper, while Potemkin reduced 
the fortress of Oczakow, and barbarously massacred the garrison and 
inhabitants, 1788. Next year, Abdul-hamid was succeeded by his 
nephew, Selim III., who, regardless of the hazardous position of his 
empire, began his reign by a career of the most thoughtless folly and 
dissolute extravagance. The Austrian and Russian armies, under Co- 
bourg and Suwarrow, having effected a junction, met the Turkish forces 
on the plains of Rimnik, and defeated them with great slaughter and the 
loss of their artillery and baggage. The Austrians then diverged into 
Wallachia, and captured Bucharest, while Suwarrow, having received 
the submission of Bender, laid siege to the strong town of Ismail. In 
December 1790, the place was carried by storm, and the garrison of 
40,000 men put to the sword ; while the fortress of Belgrade shortly 
after surrendered to Marshal Laudon, thus leaving Nissa as the only 
barrier of the Turkish capital. At this juncture, when the Ottoman 
power in Europe seemed on the point of being annihilated, the insurrec- 
tions in Hungary and the Low Countries, and the jealousy of the other 
powers, alone saved it from utter ruin. By the mediation of England, 
Holland, and Prussia, the emperor w r as compelled to sign a separate 
treaty with the Porte, resigning all his conquests, 1791 ; while Catherine, 
after another sanguinaty campaign, yielding to the same solicitations, 
confirmed by the peace of Jassy the former treaty of 1774, retaining 
merely the fortress of Oczakow. 

This dangerous war, though terminated with little territorial loss, had shaken 
the internal organisation of the empire to its eentre. The janissaries, at one 
time the most efficient troops in the world, had long been retrograding, and 
were now little better than a disorderly crowd ; and while these disturbed the 



47G 3IODEK3* HISTORY. 

capital with tumults and insurrections, the provinces set at nought the authority 
of the sultan. All Bey had assumed in Egypt the rank of an independent 
sovereign, and his example was followed by Ali Pacha of Janina ; Paswan 
Uglou had raised the standard of rebellion at Widin ; the Servians were in 
arms; and Arabia was possessed by the fanatical sect of the Wahabees. In 
these alarming circumstances, the sultan at length, shaking oft' his early vices, 
displayed the possession of considerable talents, joined with great prudence and 
humanity. Keeping aloof from the struggles of Europe consequent on the 
French revolution, he endeavoured to introduce some degree of order into his 
government, and raised a force disciplined on the modern plan, preparatory to 
an entire remodelling of the army. These troops were afterwards greatly dis- 
tinguished in the defence of Acre, during the unjustifiable invasion of Egypt 
under Napoleon; an event which compelled the Porte to unite with England 
and Russia against France, 1798. 

PERSIA. 

The reign of the Afghan usurper, Mahmoud, was at first distinguished 
by an ability and moderation commendable in a conqueror; but he sub- 
sequently disgraced himself by ferocious cruelty, and died insane in 
1725. His position was far from being an easy one; for, while Prince 
Tamasp, son of Hussein, held out in Armenia, Russia and the Porte had 
formed the design of seizing the provinces adjoining their frontiers ; and 
hence, in 1723, he actually ceded the Caspian provinces to Russia, in 
return for a promise of aid which was never fulfilled. His successor, 
Ashraff, in order to get himself recognised sovereign of Persia by the 
Porte, permitted Achmet to seize on various provinces, 1727; but 
Tamasp was now supported by Nadir Kouli, who from a Turkoman 
shepherd had, by the force of his character, risen to power and import- 
ance. In spite of desperate efforts in the field, anil frightful massacres 
of the disaffected citizens, the fortune of war turned against the Afghan 
monarch, who was finally slain, and his adherents driven out of the coun- 
try, in 1730. All real power, however, lay in the hands of Nadir, who 
received from the shah the government of the four finest provinces of 
the empire. He turned his arms successfully against the Turks; but, 
while he was absent in Khorassan, Tamasp imprudently encountered 
them, was defeated, and forced to conclude an ignominious peace. 
Nadir, inveighing against this national disgrace, dethroned the unhappy 
prince, elevating his infant son, Abbas III., in whose name he governed 
as regent, 1732; and, after expelling the Turks from their conquests, 
concluded a treaty in 173G, re-establishing the ancient frontiers of 
Persia, while the districts ceded to Russia were recovered by negotia- 
tion. The infant prince died the same year, whereupon Nadir formally 
declared the Sophi dynasty at an end, and himself assumed the diadem 
by the title of Nadir Shah. 

This extraordinary man, by the sheer force of natural ability, raised 
Persia for some time to a higher degree of influence than she had pos 
sessed even in the reign of Abbas. Great part of Afghanistan yielded to 
his arms ; and, in 1739, offended at a breach of friendship by the Mogul, 
he led an immense army into India. One great victory near Delhi, 
1739, laid the power of the descendant of Timour at his feet; that city 
was taken, and upwards of £30,000,000 sterling of booty, with the 
annexation of all the territory west of the Indus, rewarded the enterprise 
of Nadir, who is said to have committed fewer crimes on this occasion 



EIGHTEENTH CENTUKY A. D. 477 

than almost any other Asiatic invader. He next year reduced the Us* 
beck princes of Khiva and Bokhara ; while a second war with the 
Porte, 1743, after several signal victories, terminated to the advantage 
of Persia. But his native ferocity, having no longer foreign enemies on 
whom it might exercise itself, now broke out uncontrolled, and for the 
remainder of his life he perpetrated the most frightful tyranny ; *he 
blinded his brave son, Riza Kouli, massacred his subjects by thousands, 
and was at length assassinated by his own officers, 1747. 

The death of Nadir became the signal for a scene of anarchy and con- 
fusion : the Usbecks threw off the yoke, and Afghanistan became an 
independent and powerful kingdom; while the crown of Persia itself 
was disputed by various rival chiefs. At length all other claimants 
were forced to yield to the ability and merit of Kereem Khan, head of 
the native family of Zend, who, in 1759, assumed the government by 
the title of administrator, refusing the insignia of royalty. The rule of 
this excellent man, who occupied the throne twenty-six years, was 
characterized by a high degree of justice, clemency, and moderation ; 
he repressed the depredations of the Turkoman tribes, which in the 
time of Nadir had overspread Persia, and concluded advantageously a 
short war with the Porte. But his death, in 1779, gave rise to new 
troubles; and during ten years six different chiefs, his brothers and 
nephews, ascended or claimed the throne, while Russia took advantage 
of the turmoil to encroach on the northern frontier. At length, in 1789, 
the supreme power remained in the hands of Lootf Ali Khan, a brave 
though cruel prince, who maintained his position till 1795, when he 
was overpowered and put to death by his rival, Aga Mohammed Khan, 
chief of the Kajirs, a Turkish tribe settled in Mazanderan by Abbas the 
Great. By a vigorous though sanguinary administration, this monarch 
succeeded in consolidating his authority ; and having fixed his capital 
in Teheran, he reduced the revolted Georgians with the most ruthless 
severity His cruelties, however, speedily provoked his own attendants 
to assassinate him, and he was succeeded by his nephew, Shah Futteh 
Ali, 1797, the early part of whose reign w 7 as chiefly distinguished by 
the rival intrigues of France and England in reference to India. 

INDIA. 

Fall of the Mogul Empire. — The temporary impulse which the 
vigorous administration of Aurengzebe had communicated to the empire 
of Delhi, ceased at once on his death ; and during the reign of his son, 
Shah Aulum, 1707, enemies arose on every side. The Mahrattas widely 
extended their conquests ; the Rajpoot princes, who had never been 
effectually subdued, again asserted their independence ; while the pro- 
vinces of Delhi and Lahore, the very centre of his power, were convulsed 
by contests with the warlike sect of the Sikhs, who, by declaring the 
abolition of castes, had rapidly increased in importance. At his demise 
in 1712, each of his four sons contended for the succession, which, after 
a short but sanguinary struggle, at length fell to the eldest, who became 
emperor by the title of Jehandar Shah. This prince, abandoning him- 
self to a career of low profligacy, was found altogether incapable of 
ruling; while among the nobles bold spirits were not wanting, ready to 
avail themselves of the opportunity of advancement thus afforded. Two 



478 MODERN HISTORY. 

brothers, in particular, Abdoola and Hussein, who boasted the high rank 
of Syeds or descendants of the Prophet, had the address to procure his 
dethronement in the course of a few months ; and for seven years they 
actually administered the government, setting up during that period no 
less than four successive emperors. The last of these, Mohammed Shah, 
a grandson of Shah Auluin, was raised to the throne in 1720, and suc- 
ceeded in ridding himself of these dictators by means of assassination; 
but he was no sooner in uncontrolled possession of the sovereign autho- 
rity, than he displayed that incapacity which seemed now to have be- 
come inherent in the Mogul race. In consequence, the Deccan became 
virtually independent under the viceroyalty of Nizam-ul-Mulk, while a 
considerable portion of the northern provinces was seized by the Rohillas, 
an Afghan people, who established themselves in part of the district 
afterwards known as Rohilcund. But the greatest misfortune of this 
reign, and which in fact consummated the downfal of the empire, was 
the invasion of Nadir Shah. That powerful prince, having sent an em- 
bassy to demand the surrender of several Persian fugitives, the envoy 
and his suite were murdered by the inhabitants of Jellalabad; and Mo- 
hammed, by the advice of his arrogant courtiers, refused to grant satis- 
faction for the outrage. Nadir, then victorious in Afghanistan, imme- 
diately turned his arms against Delhi, 1739 ; the Mogul forces were 
defeated, and the wealth of centuries, to the amount of more than 
£30,000,000 sterling, besides the provinces west of the Indus, became 
the prey of the victor. 

Satisfied with the booty and acquisitions he had obtained, the Persian 
monarch reinstated Mohammed on the throne; and in 1747 that prince 
was succeeded by his son Ahmed Shah. During his reign, which lasted 
six years, the dissolution of the empire may be said to have taken place. 
The northern and north-western provinces were seized by the Afghans 
and the Sikhs, and the Rajpoots extended their territory as far as 
Ajmere. Ghazee-ud-dien, grandson to Nizam-ul-Mulk, having now be- 
come vizier, deposed Ahmed in 1753, and raised Aulumgire, a son of 
Jehandar Shah, to the now merely nominal dignity of emperor. A 
period of unparalleled intrigue and disorder now took place, during 
which Delhi was exposed to an assault by the Afghans, surpassing in 
its horrors that under Nadir; und in 1759, Ghazee caused Aulumgire to 
be assassinated, and attempted, but unsuccessfully, to set up some new 
pageant of royalty. Meantime, the restless Mahrattas extended their 
conquests on every side, drove the Afghans from Moultan and Lahore, 
and threatened to subjugate all India. On the one hand, the Moham- 
medan powers united to arrest their progress, and were joined by Ahmed 
Abdalla Shah, who had become Sultan of Afghanistan on the death of 
Nadir; while, on the other, the Hindoo states and Ghazee made com- 
mon cause with the Mahrattas. This great contest was at length decided 
on the plains of Panniput, northward of Delhi. The Mahrattas were 
routed with great slaughter ; but the victorious Afghans, contenting 
themselves with the provinces west of the Indus already in their posses- 
sion, bestowed the Mogul sovereignty on Shah Aulum II., 1701, who, 
after many vicissitudes of fortune, became a pensioner of the East India 
Company. 

Rise and Progress of the British Power. — At the close of the 
seventeenth century, the three chief maritime nations of Europe, Eng- 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 479 

land, France, and Holland, had obtained possession of various trading 
settlements in India, and the wars of the west were now to be extended 
to that distant region. The last of these countries, however, content 
with their insular possessions, never obtained much territorial power on 
the Asiatic continent ; and the contest for supremacy was waged from 
the beginning between the two others. These great rivals came into 
collision on the breaking out of the succession war, when Labourdon- 
nais, the French governor of Mauritius, led a squadron against the settle- 
ment of Madras, and forced it to surrender, 1746; but it was again 
restored, two years after, by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.* At this 
time, Dupleix, who commanded at Pondicherry, having seen the real 
weakness of the native powers, formed a grand plan for aggrandizing 
the French East India Company. Accordingly, on the death of Nizam- 
ul-Mulk, the powerful viceroy of the Deccan, 1748, he declared in favour 
of one of the rival candidates, and succeeded, by his intrigues and the 
aid of a strong body of troops, in raising his favourite, Mirzapha Jung, 
to that dignity. The nabobship of the Carnatic, a subordinate govern- 
ment in the same province, was obtained for his ally, Chunda~Sahib, 
1750; while his own countrymen were rewarded for their assistance 
with large grants of territory, and indeed with the actual government of 
these districts. Mohammed Ali, however, son of the late nabob, still 
held the fortress of Trichinopoly, imploring the assistance of the Eng- 
lish, who gave him some reinforcements ; but the fortune of war still 
continued against him, till at length the celebrated Clive, having ob- 
tained a captain's commission, undertook to make a diversion by an 
attack from Madras upon Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic. With a 
small force he captured that city, and though Chunda Sahib besieged it 
with a large army, repelled the assailants with amazing talent, and 
courage. Reinforced by Colonel Kirkpatrick, he pursued and defeated 
the enemy on the plains of Ami ; the Rajah of Tanjore and other princes 
declared for Mohammed Ali; and Chunda and his allies were several 
times discomfited. In 1754, Dupleix was recalled to Europe, and a 
provisional treaty concluded between the English and French, who 
mutually agreed to withdraw from all interference with the native 
princes : Salabat Jung, the. successor of Mirzapha, was left in possession 
of the Deccan, while Mohammed Ali remained nabob of the Carnatic. 
Both nations, however, now possessed a commanding position in 
Southern India, and had contrived to secure considerable territorial ad- 
vantages. 

Meanwhile, the English factory at Calcutta, although subordinate to 
Madras, had continued to make surprising advances in wealth and in- 
fluence, and thereby provoked the jealousy of the native princes. 
Surajah Dowlah, the subahdar of Bengal, a sanguinary tyrant, offended 
at some supposed abuse by the English of their privileges, and more 
especially by the protection of a nabob who had fled from his vengeance, 
suddenly marched with 50,000 men against Calcutta, 1756. After an 
ineffectual resistance, the governor and all but 200 of the garrison 
escaped on shipboard ; and these unfortunate persons, along with Mr. 
Hoi well, who had taken the command, were speedily made prisoners, 
and immured, by order of the subahdar, in a room not twenty feet 

* The French were the first to train sepoys, or natives disciplined after the European 
manner. 



480 MODERN HISTORY. 

square, during an intensely hot night in June. From this dreadful dun- 
geon, long after known as the Black Hole, only twenty-four were taken 
out alive in the morning. The affairs of the English in Bengal seemed 
entirely ruined ; but the position of the Company in Coromandel was 
now so much improved, that they were able to send Clive with a body 
of troops to Calcutta. That town was immediately recovered, Hoogly 
redaced, and Surajah obliged to grant peace on favourable terms. It has 
been seen that the contests of the French and English in India were 
carried on with little intermission even when the two kingdoms were at 
peace in Europe; but the struggle of the seven years' war had now 
broken out, and gave new bitterness to their rivalry. The latter, there- 
fore, in 1757, reduced Chandernagore, the principal settlement of their 
antagonists in Bengal; while Clive aimed at further humbling the 
subahdar, who, besides being backward in fulfilling the treaty, had set 
on foot negotiations with the enemy. With this view, a secret agree- 
ment was made with Meer Jaffier and others of his ministers, for his 
dethronement, and for raising that chief himself to the musnud; while 
the English colonel advanced at the head of a body of troops to seize 
the important post of Plassey. The enemy, however, had already occu- 
pied it with a force of nearly 70,000 men, while those of Clive amounted 
only to 1000 Europeans and 2000 sepoys ; yet he ventured to give battle, 
and gained a complete victory. Jaffier was acknowledged subahdar; 
Surajah was taken and put to death with the connivance of his successor, 
who agreed to enlarge the territory of his allies, and pay them a sum of 
nearly three millions sterling. 

The war was now vigorously prosecuted between the two European 
powers in the Carnatic, where Count Lally, the French commander, 
being considerably reinforced from home, reduced Cuddalore and Fort 
St. David, 1758. Next year he failed in an attack on Madras; while 
the British, taking the field in earnest, gained several successes over 
him, especially at Wandewash under Sir Eyre Coote. Finally, in the 
beginning of 1761, the power of the French was utterly destroyed by 
the reduction of Pondicherry ; and, though this and other settlements 
were restored by the treaty of Paris, 1763, their influence in India may 
now be said to have ended. Meanwhile Meer Jaffier, being unable to 
satisfy the demands of the English, had been deposed, and his son-in- 
law, Cossim Ali Khan, elevated in his room, 1760. This prince was 
found still more intractable than his predecessor, and soon incurred the 
displeasure of his allies by attempting to limit their privileges as traders. 
Recourse was speedily had to arms ; the nabob was defeated and set 
aside, and Jaffier anew placed on the throne, 1763. Sujah Dowlah, 
subahdar of Oude, and the titular Mogul emperor, Aulum II., having 
assisted Cossim, were next attacked and defeated by Major Munro at 
Buxar, 1764, several fortresses at the same time falling into the hands 
of the conquerors. The nabob was glad to purchase peace by defraying 
the charges of the war; and, Jaffier having died, the emperor conferred 
on the victors the revenues of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, as also a con- 
firmation of the several districts conquered by them within the nominal 
bounds of his empire. From this date, 1765, commences the recognised 
sovereignty of the British in Hindostan. In the south, besides holding 
the actual power throughout the Carnatic, they had received the Northern 
Circars in grant from the Nizam, on condition of giving him their pro- 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 481 

tection; but this alliance involved them in contests with Hyder Ali, a 
skilful soldier, who had risen from obscurity to be sultan of Mysore. 

The political importance acquired by the East India Company 
induced the cabinet to claim a share in the government of their territo- 
rie ; and in 1773, it was determined in parliament that a supreme court 
of judicature should be sent from England ; that, the three presidencies, 
Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, should be subject to a governor-general 
and council, the former to be approved by the king; and that all civil 
and military correspondence should be submitted to the ministry. Mr. 
Hastings, the first who held this new authority in the East, found the 
affairs of India greatly embarrassed, and a general confederation against 
his countrymen in progress among the native powers. Notwithstanding 
violent opposition in his council, he conducted affairs with great success. 
The French, taking advantage of the breaking out of the American war, 
had formed an alliance with the Mahrattas, the Nizam, and Hyder Ali. 
They lost, however, their settlements of Chandernagore, Masulipatam, 
and Pondicherry, 1778. Skilful negotiations weakened the enemy ; but 
in 1780, Hyder burst into the Carnatic, ravaging everything before 
him. While besieging Arcot, he defeated two armies within six miles 
of each other, but was afterwards routed in a desperate battle by Sir 
Eyre Coote at the head of 7000 men. In less than a month afterwards 
he experienced another defeat, and had the misfortune to learn that his 
fleet had been destroyed by Sir E. Hughes. After the death of his father 
in 1782, Tippoo Saib continued the war with various success until the 
peace of 1784. 

Warren Hastings, over whose head a public impeachment now hung, 
was succeeded by Lord Comwallis, 1786. A dispute between Tippoo 
Saib and the Rajah of Travancore, an ally of the English, soon rekin- 
dled the flames of war, 1790. After some slight reverses, the strono- 
fortress of Bangalore was taken, and Seringapatam threatened with a 
siege. To preserve his capital, the sultan agreed to resign half his 
dominions to the English, the Nizam, and the Mahrattas ; to pay three 
millions and a half sterling for the expenses of the contest ; and to sur- 
render his two sons as hostages. 

The pacific policy of Sir John Shore caused much dissatisfaction, and 
converted the Nizam, an old and faithful ally of the English, into an 
exasperated enemy. Tippoo did not fail to take advantage of this 
unexpected course of events, and negotiated with the French directory 
for succours, w T hile he strengthened his position by alliances with the 
native chiefs. Lord Mornington, afterwards Marquis of Wellesley, 
who succeeded Shore, commenced hostilities, which were rapidly termi- 
nal I'd by the fall of Seringapatam and the death of the sultan, whose 
immense treasures became a prey to the victors; and the British 
dominion was established more firmly than ever in India, 1799. A 
considerable portion of the territory was restored to a descendant of its 
ancient princes ; the remainder became the possession of the British and 
their allies. 

UNITED STATES. 

It has been seen that, during the course of the seventeenth century, the 
richest and most fertile portions of North America were extensively colonized 
by English settlers, who sought on those distant shores a larger amount of civil 
41 



482 MODERN HISTORV. 

and religious liberty than could be found in Europe. These settlements, there 
fore, owed their establishment rather to private enterprise than to any active 
interference on the part of government, charters of trade and occupancy being 
obtained by various associations and individuals ; and the states thus founded, 
which at length amounted to thirteen in number, were in a great measure inde- 
pendent of each other. The administration of the home government, however, 
was gradually substituted for that of the various proprietaries under whom they 
had been originally planted; the power of appointing governors being vested in 
the crown, while the colonists possessed the right ot electing their representative 
legislatures. These liberal institutions, as well as the spirit of the people, 
fostered the development of a strong disposition towards civil liberty ; while the 
natural advantages of the country, and the gradual subjugation of the Dutch 
and French settlements, secured a rapid increase of wealth and population. 
Their principal value to the mother country consisted in the right of exclusive 
commerce, which was willingly accorded by the colonists so long as her pro- 
tection was found necessary to shield them from external enemies ; but no 
sooner had they outgrown this necessity, than the restrictions which it imposed 
began to excite their opposition, while the government itself, instead of pru- 
dently relaxing the strictness of its rule, decided rather upon an extension of 
authority, and thereby gave rise to a contest which eventually led to the dis 
memberment of the empire. 

Under the head of Britain have already been noticed the various 
attempts made by parliament to impose taxes on the colonists, and the 
strong opposition which these excited on the other side of the Atlantic. 
At length, in 1773, all these plans were abandoned, with the exception 
of a merely nominal duty on tea, which could not be said to affect the 
price ; and as it was never doubted that this impost would be tolerated, 
large shipments of that article were made from the English ports. But 
the Americans saw that the right of taxation still lurked under this con- 
cession ; and the approach of the vessels excited their resentment in a 
manner altogether unlooked for. At New York and Philadelphia, the 
cargoes were not allowed to be landed ; at Charleston, they were put 
into stores and prohibited from being sold ; while at Boston a shipload 
was seized by the mob and thrown into the sea. This act of violence 
gave great offence, and led to the passing of an act in parliament closing 
that port, and another abolishing the legislative assembly of Massachu- 
setts. In reference to this latter measure, a congress of representatives 
from all the states met at Philadelphia in September 1774, when they 
expressed their sympathy with the disfranchised state, and, in a petition 
to the king, asserted that the exclusive power, in all cases of taxation 
and internal policy, lay of right with the provincial assemblies. The 
same body also denounced other grievances, especially an act for trying 
in England Americans accused of treasonable practices ; and while still 
professing a desire for reconciliation, framed a covenant of non-inter- 
course, by which the whole advantage of the colonies to the home 
country, in a commercial point of view, was at once destroyed. Their 
petition was not received ; the king and parliament resolved on strong 
measures; and a civil war was th.e consequ* nee. 

The contest began at Lexington in the spring of 1775, by a a skirmish 
between the British troops and the armed provincials for the possession 
of certain magazines. At the same time, the deputies assembled at 
Philadelphia, assuming the title of " Congress of the United Colonies 
of North America," resolved upon raising an army for the defence of 
the country, and issued a paper currency for its payment. The first 
•ittle was fought at Bunker's Hill, near Boston, on the 17th June; and 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 483 

though neither side could boast any decisive success, the royal troops 
suffered severely, and the real advantage remained with their antago- 
nists. George Washington, a gentleman of fortune in Virginia, who 
had acquired considerable military reputation in the late colonial war 
with France, now received from congress the command in chief of the 
insurgent forces ; and though an expedition under General Montgomery 
failed to make any impression on Canada, which remained faithful to 
Britain, the government had the mortification to find, by the end of the 
year, that no progress had been made in reducing the Americans. They 
still continued to beleaguer the town of Boston, which the English, 
under General Howe, to the number of 7000, were at length compelled 
to evacuate and embark for Halifax, leaving a quantity of artillery and 
stores behind them ; and, in March 1776, Washington entered the place 
in triumph. 

The congress now resolved on the decisive step of a declaration of 
independence, which was issued on the 4th July of that year ; and they 
at the same time established a federative union among the belligerent 
colonies, assuming the title of "The United States of America." But 
the slender forces of the new republic were for some time hardly able 
anywhere to face the numerous and well-appointed armies of Britain; 
and nothing but the indomitable spirit of the people, and the courage 
and ability of their leaders, could have compensated for the odds. They 
lost New York and New Jersey, and congress was compelled to take 
refuge in Maryland ; while Howe defeated Washington, with a loss of 
1200 men, near the Brandywine Creek, and took possession of Phila- 
delphia, 1777. A signal success, on their part, however, made up for 
these disasters. Lieutenant-general Burgoyne had been sent from 
Canada with ten thousand men, for the purpose of making an attack on 
the northen states ; and, advancing to join General Howe, for some 
time drove the Americans before him, and captured Ticonderoga. But 
at length he encountered such difficulties, and was so vigorously opposed 
by Gates and Arnold, that, in October, after two severe actions, his 
whole force was compelled to surrender at Saratoga. This decisive 
event determined the French cabinet, who had long been watching the 
contest, to form an alliance with the States, 1778; while numbers of 
their officers, including the celebrated La Fayette, entered the insurgent 
army. General Clinton, now chief in command of the royal troops, 
forthwith abandoned Philadelphia, and retired to New York; but an 
attempt on Rhode Island, by the American general Sullivan and the 
French admiral D'Estaing, proved a failure. At this period commis- 
sioners were sent from England for the purpose of effecting a reconcilia- 
tion ; but as the congress refused to treat on any other terms than a 
recognition of independence, nothing could be effected. 

In the year 1779, various naval engagements took place between the 
British and French fleets, the latter now aided by that of Spain, which 
proved very harassing to the ministry, and greatly distressed the trade 
of the mother country. However, in 1780, the states of North and 
South Carolina, which contained a large proportion of persons favoura- 
ble to royalty, submitted to a British army under General Clinton, and 
Gates sustained a severe check at Camden from Lord Cornwallis.* 

*In this campaign occurred the defection of the American General Arnold, and tne 
detection and execution of the British Major Andre, by whom it was negotiated, as 
a spy. 



484 MODERN HISTORY. 

Next year, the greater part of the army in these southern states was 
conducted northward by the latter, in the hope of making further con- 
quests ; but General Greene, after greatly harassing the royal troops, 
regained both the Carolinas, while his lordship took up a position at 
Yorktown in Virginia. At this time Washington was threatening a 
force under Clinton at New York, and the latter tamely suffered him to 
retire to the southward, and prepare to attack Cornwallis. In Septem- 
ber, Y^orktown was invested by this and other corps of Americans and 
French; and in three weeks, the British batteries being completely 
silenced, the whole army was compelled to surrender. With this deci- 
sive event, hostilities may be said to have terminated. In England, the 
hopelessness of the contest had now become so apparent, that early in 
1732 a motion was carried in parliament for its discontinuance. Provi- 
sional articles of peace were accordingly signed at Paris in the month 
of November ; and in the ensuing February, a treaty was concluded, by 
which the United States were acknowledged as " free, sovereign, and 
independent." All the European powers subsequently adhered to this 
arrangement; while Washington, to whose unshaken constancy and 
patriotism the success of the struggle had mainly been owing, resigned 
his authority into the hands of congress, and retired into private life. 

The American leaders now set themselves vigorously to perfect and 
consolidate the independence which had been so gloriously achieved. 
Great distress prevailed throughout the country, in consequence of the 
long neglect of agriculture and commerce; a heavy debt lay on the 
hands of government ; and no small amount of discontent existed. These 
difficulties were met by various salutary regulations ; and in 1787, a 
general convention met at Philadelphia, of which Washington was 
chosen president, with the view of framing a constitution for the republic. 
That body established the form of government which has since prevailed 
in the country : the different states were united for the purpose of mutual 
protection; the general legislative powers were confided to a congress, 
consisting of a chamber of representatives chosen biennially, and a 
senate elected every six years ; the executive was intrusted to a presi- 
dent and vice-president chosen every four years; while each state, pos- 
sessing a corresponding form of government, retained the management 
of its own internal affairs. In 1789, Washington was inaugurated first 
president of the United States, an honour which again devolved on him 
in 1793 ; and he displayed throughout his term of office the same talent 
and disinterestedness which had marked his military career. He wisely 
abstained from all interference in the contests of the French revolution, 
formed treaties of amity and commerce with Britain, Spain, and other 
nations, and anxiously aided every scheme of internal improvement, so 
that the country made extraordinary advances in wealth and population. 
He finally resigned all public employment in 1796, and was succeeded 
by Mr. Adams, one of his coadjutors in the war of independence. 

HAYTI. 

This island, the second in size and first in fertility of the West India group, 
was discovered by Columbus in 1495, and received from him the name of His- 
paniola ; it was subsequently settled by the Spaniards, who founded the towns 
of Isabella and St. Domingo. The aboriginal inhabitants are believed to have 
then amounted to nearly 1,000,000 ; but in consequence of the frightful cruelties 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 485 

inflicted on them by their European masters, they were almost annihilated in 
the course of twenty years, and during the next century their place was sup- 
plied by vast importations of negro slaves, in 1665, the French obtained a 
tooting on the western coast, and in 1697 became possessors of nearly half the 
island; and this colony, being regarded as the most valuable of their foreign 
settlements, was cultivated with great care and success, so that its agricultural 
produce, consisting principally of sugar, coffee, and cotton, was valued in 1789 
at fully 8,000,000 sterling. The whole of this immense wealth, however, as in 
the other West India Islands, was raised by the compulsory labour of the un- 
happy Africans, who, after enduring the horrors of transportation to the island, 
were forced there to lead a life of cheerless labour and suffering for the benelit 
of their taskmasters. 

The barbarities of the slave-trade had long excited the ineffectual in- 
dignation of the humane in Western Europe ; and in Denmark, France, 
and England, societies were formed for the protection of the negroes. 
In the last of these countries, so early as 1754, the Quaker body had 
universally protested against the traffic ; while, in 1785, public sympa- 
thy was strongly awakened on the subject by the writings of the cele- 
brated Clarkson. The philanthropists of France took a more decided 
course. The Suciete des Amis des Noirs, 1788, advocated the immediate 
abolition of slavery itself; and by a decree of the Constituent Assembly, 
1791, the privileges of equality were conferred indiscriminately on all 
persons of colour born of free parents. Unfortunately, no precautions 
were taken to ensure that this great measure should be carried into effect 
in a peaceful and orderly manner ; the whites of the colony were generally 
opposed to it ; and the consequence was, that so soon as the news ar- 
rived, the mulattoes and negroes flew to arms, and massacred large 
numbers of their former masters. The cruelties exercised on both sides 
during this disastrous contest exceed anything recorded in history. The 
Constituent Assembly, at once astonished and alarmed, in vain endea- 
voured to retrace their steps : their delegates, backed by three thousand 
men, fruitlessly strove to reconcile the discordant inhabitants of the 
colony. The insurrection at last became universal ; while the Legislative 
Assembly, and after them the Convention, proclaimed the unlimited 
freedom of the blacks, 1793. The furious civil war which next ensued 
between the negroes and mulattoes, placed Toussaint L'Ouverture at 
the head of affairs, 1S00. In the next year an assembly of the leading 
chiefs, convened at Cape Town, drew up a constitution, conferring on 
him unlimited authority, under the title of president and governor for 
life. These proceedings excited the jealousy of Napoleon, who sent 
out an armament to recover the island. After an obstinate resistance, 
Toussaint fell into the hands of the French, by whom he was conveyed 
to Europe, where he was shamefully put to death. The blacks, how T - 
ever, rallied under John James Dessalines, who expelled the invaders, 
and erected the western portion of the island, to which he gave the name 
of Hayti, into an empire, assuming the government by the title of James 
I. His despotism and cruelty having rendered him universal^ detested, 
he was slain in an insurrection in 1806 ; and the country divided into 
two states, the northern coast being formed into a negro community un- 
der Christophe, who, in 1811, was proclaimed king, while the southern 
plains became a mulatto republic under Petion. Continual war was 
carried on between these two chiefs. After the death of the latter in 
1818, he was succeeded as president of the commonwealth by Boyer; 
41* 



486 MODERN HISTORY. 

and Christophe having killed himself on the breaking out of an insur- 
rection in 1820, the whole was united under his authority, which was 
also extended over the Spanish portion of the island two years later. In 
1825, an ordonnance was published by the King of France, in which 
he formally recognised the independence of the island. Hayti has almost 
ceased to be an exporting country ; but the population has nevertheless 
rapidly increased, and exertions are made by the government to encou- 
rage the settlement of whites and promote education. Though called a 
republic, and ruled by a president, the government is properly a despot- 
ism, the chief authority residing in the army. 

THE CHURCH. 

The impiety which characterized the eighteenth century first chal- 
lenged public attention under the regency of the Duke of Orleans, whose 
palace became the resort of the freethinking wits of the day. In 1751, 
De Prades, a priest, maintained at the Sorbonne a thesis which was re- 
garded as the lirst public effort of the sceptical philosophy. In the same 
year were issued the lirst two volumes of the Didionnaire E?icydopedique, 
an immense compilation, which, according to the prospectus, was to be 
a complete storehouse of human knowledge, instead of what it really is, 
a magazine of irreligion. Voltaire was then in the full strength of his 
varied genius, and by his sparkling yet natural style charmed all readers, 
while he scattered the seeds of incredulity. The sophisms and idle 
theories of Rousseau on education attracted the more serious ; while 
Diderot, D'Aleinbert, and other equally zealous disciples, supported 
these chiefs of the philosophic school. Impiety became the fashion; it 
pervaded the drawing-room and the theatre, and was above all predomi- 
nant in the upper classes of society all over the Continent. 

The suppression of the Jesuits, in what light soever we may view 
the principles and practice of their society, is the first link in the great 
chain of misfortunes that befell the Roman Catholic church during this 
century. Clement XIV. long hesitated, and sought a thousand pretexts 
for saving a religious body that counted 20,000 members, all devoted to 
the supremacy of their spiritual head. This act, which was only adopted 
at last (1773) as a means of reconciling the Roman Church with the 
heads of the various Catholic states, became a signal for discord and 
insurrection against the authority of the holy see. In Germany espe- 
cially were the innovators most numerous, and the opinions of Febro- 
nius (Von Hontheim), the apologist of the bishops against the Pope, 
rapidly gained ground. Joseph II. substituted the normal for the eccle- 
siastical schools, and, instead of the ancient chairs of theology, esta 
blished seminaries independent of the bishops. A number of religious 
houses were suppressed, and the others released from all obedience to 
their superiors-general. It was, moreover, declared that the prelates 
were no longer subject to the Pope. In Italy, also, Ricci, bishop of 
Pistoia, adopted all the German innovations. 

The death of Joseph restored peace between Germany and the Pope ; 
but the new irreligious doctrines were elsewhere destined to work out 
their natural results. The men who had adopted them, and laboured in 
their propagation, were raised to power in France, and the political his 
tory of the Revolution has shown how far men will go in folly and 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 187 

ciime, when unchecked by conscience and religious feeling. All the 
established forms of worship were swept away, although, by a decree 
of the representative body, the existence of a Supreme Being and the 
immortality of the soul were finally acknowledged. The goddess of 
Reason, under the form of a woman, was placed on the altars of the 
living God, and received the homage of the insensate populace. 

The Methodists. — This sect, which derives its name from the regu- 
larity and strict method of its followers, was founded in Oxford by John 
Wesley. It rapidly increased in numbers ; but its existence was shaken 
in 1741 by the difference arising from the Arminianism of its author and 
the Calvinism of Whitefield. About ten years after, the opposition be- 
tween the Methodist preachers and the Anglican clergy led to a separa- 
tion from the Establishment, though in 1788 the society was still eager 
to proclaim its unity with the church in doctrine, and its reluctant differ- 
ence on matters of discipline. Apart from the rash speculations of one 
class, and the enthusiasm of both, there is much real piety and devo- 
tion, which have greatly contributed to excite the exertions of the regular 
clergy. We may imagine we see the visible hand of the Almighty 
raising up this society as a new barrier against infidelity, when unbelief 
was most abundant. 

Consult : Lord Mahon's History of England, chap. xix. 

LITERATURE, ARTS, AND SCIENCES. 

Great Britain. — The literature of the British islands during this century is 
of great value and importance, and presents a vast number of successful 
aspirants in every walk of inquiry or imagination. In poetry appear the names 
of Prior, 1721, conspicuous for the graceful ease and vivacity of his productions ; 
Young, 1765, author of the Night Thoughts, a work remarkable for the im- 
pressive solemnity of its reflections ; and Pope, 1744, who carried to the 
highest perfection correctness of versification and splendour of diction, and 
whose voluminous works are a treasury of keen wit and elegant satire. Thom- 
son, 1748, is admired for the pastoral beauty of his Seasons ; Collins, 1756, for 
his odes, particularly that on the Passio?is ; and Gray, 1771, for the exquisite 
harmony of his elegies. The most natural poets of the period, however, were 
Cowper, 1800, author of The Task, and Robert Burns, 1796, whose songs are 
unrivalled for simplicity and real pathos. Steele, 1729, and Addison, 1719, 
contributed to the drama ; but their fame depends mainly on those remarkable 
essays on men and manners published in the Tatler and Spectator, — a species 
of writing of which they may be considered the founders. Vanbrugh, 1726, 
and Congreve, 1728, cultivated comedy; Defoe, 1731, an extensive miscel- 
laneous writer, wrote the favourite tale of Robinson Crusoe ; and Sterne, 1768, 
is admired for the pathetic touches of his Sentimental Journey. As novel- 
writers appear the distinguished names of Swift, 1745, Fielding, 1754, Richard- 
son, 1761, and Smollett, 1771 ; while Goldsmith, 1774, whose Vicar of Wake- 
field ranks him in the same walk, was also known as a poet and miscellaneous 
writer. Philology received its most valuable contribution in the Dictionary of 
the renowned Samuel Johnson, 1784, whose Lives of the Poets has procured 
him a distinguished reputation in criticism and biography ; in history appeared 
the great standard works of Hume, 1776, Robertson, 1793, and Gibbon, 1794; 
Isaac Newton, 1719, perhaps the greatest man of his age, will ever be rernem 
bered in connexion with the theory of the planetary motions which bears his 
name; and Halley, 1742, has been justly celebrated in the same walk of 
science. Butler, 1752, Sherlock, 1761, Warburton. 1779, Wesley, 1791, and 
Paley, 1805, were conspicuous in theology ; and Blackstone, 1780, is well 
known to constitutional writers by his valuable Commentaries on the Laws of 
England. The science of political economy owes its origin to Adam Smith, 



488 MODERN HISTORY. 

1790, author of the Wealth of Nations ; Hartley, 1757, and Reid, 1796, success* 
fully cultivated metaphysics ; Franklin, 1790, is highly esteemed as a writer 
on economics, and for his electrical discoveries ; Priestley, 1804, attracted great 
attention by his chemical investigations, and his writings on controversial 
theology, in the fine arts may be selected the names of Hogarth, 1764, who 
has been called "the painter of comedy;" Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1792, felicitous 
in portraits, while his historical pieces are regarded as among the finest produc- 
tions of the English school ; and Gainsborough, 1788, the beauty of whose 
landscapes has been generally admired. The manufacturing prosperity of 
Britain received a signal impetus from the improvements effected in the steam- 
engine by Watt, 1819, and the successive invention of the spinning-jenny, 
spinning-frame, and power-loom, by Hargreaves, Arkwright, and Crompton. 

France. — The eighteenth century in France, which the writers of the period 
complacently regarded as the age of Philosophy, exhibits many striking fea- 
tures. The character of this so-called philosophy was cold and heartless; and 
its aim, while affecting to attack vulgar prejudices merely, seemed to be to cast 
ridicule on the sublimest truths of religion, and by depriving man of all lofty 
hopes and aspirations, to fix the sum of happiness in merely sensual indulgence. 
The great personification and exponent of this era is Voltaire, 1778, a man 
eminent in every walk of literature, and whose numerous works, notwithstand- 
ing their sceptical character, still received a large tribute of admiration. The 
same tendencies were in a nearly equal degree promoted by Rousseau, 1778, 
whose celebrated work, Du Contrat Social, is believed to have hastened the 
revolution. This philosophy was embodied in a systematic form in the cele- 
brated Encyclopaedia, published in 1751, of which the chief editors were Diderot, 
1784, and D'Alembert, 1783, the latter also highly distinguished for his contri- 
butions to mathematics and natural philosophy. Previously to these writers 
appeared Le Sage, 1747, whose amusing novel of Gil Bias has been translated 
into every European language. Marmontel, 1799, in the early chapters of 
Belisarius, reminds us of Fenelon ; in the Moral Tales he is more exposed to 
censure. The period was strikingly deficient in poetical merit. A high place 
among metaphysical writers is due to Condillac, 1780; and Montesquieu, 1755, 
author of the Esprit des Lois, has the merit of making political science a 
favourite study. Rollin, 1741, is celebrated for his Ancient History; De 
Guignes, 1800, for a history of the Huns. Reaumur, 1757, an ingenious philo- 
sophical naturalist, has associated his name with an important improvement in 
the thermometer ; Buffon. 1788, occupies the highest rank as a writer on 
natural history; Bonnet, 1793, and D'Aubenton, 1799, are well known in the 
same path of research. The pneumatic system of chemistry owes its founda- 
tion to Lavoisier, 1794 ; while mathematical and astronomical science present 
the conspicuous names of Lalande, 1807, and La Grange, 1813. Among the 
most eminent painters are enumerated Vernet, 1786, successful in marine sub- 
jects ; Vien, 1810, the restorer of the French school, and model of the great 
masters by whom it is now illustrated ; and Grenze, 1805, an elegant and 
tasteful artist. 

Italy. — Italian literature during this century assumed a higher decree of 
vigour than it had displayed in the previous epoch. The comedies of Goldoni, 
1772, effected a revolution in the stage; Metastasio, 1782. imparted poetical 
vigour to the opera; and tragedy owes its creation to Alfieri, 1803. The 
national historian, Muratori. 1750; Giannone, 1748, author of a history of 
Naples; and Tiraboschi, 1794, who wrote the annals of Iialian literature, 
infused new vigour into their peculiar line of research. Political economy was 
cultivated with success by Filangieri, 1798, and other able writers. Morgagni, 
1771, is highly distinguished for his anatomical investigations; astronomy pre- 
sents the celebrated names of Cassini, 1756, and Boscovich, 1787. The in- 
vestigations of natural history were successfully prosecuted by Spallanzani, 
1799; while the important discoveries of Galvani, 1798, and Volta, 1827, 
raised electricity to the rank of a science. Italy, so long the nurse of the fine 
arts, presented no longer that unquestionable ascendency she had formerly 
maintained ; but she still produced many respectable artists, among whom the 
most distinguished were Lutti, 1724, and Battoni, 1786. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. 489 

Spain and Portugal. — With the accession of the Bourbon family, the 
literature of the peninsula began to be formed upon the model of that of France. 
Ignacio de Luzan, 1754, may be regarded as the founder of this new school, his 
Art of Poetry having produced an important revolution ; the Portuguese writer, 
Xavier de Meneses, 1743, author of the Henriqueide, was also an esteemed 
poet. A number of respectable historians appeared, among whom may be 
mentioned, Ferreras, 1735, author of a history of Spain ; Velasques, 1772, who 
wrote the annals of Castilian poetry ; and Munos, 1795 (?), celebrated for his 
unfinished History of Spanish America. Feyjoo, 1765, who has been called 
the Spanish Addison, is well known as a writer on ethics and criticism ; Ulloa, 
1795, cultivated mathematics and various subjects of scientific investigation. 
The natural history of the colonies attracted much attention at this period; 
their zoology was attentively investigated by Felix d'Azara, also distinguished 
as a traveller ; and Ruiz and Pavon published valuable researches into the floral 
productions of Peru. 

Germany.— During this century Germany exhibited an extraordinary deve- 
lopment of literary talent, offering a host of great men which it would be im- 
possible even to enumerate. In imaginative writing appear the names of J. E. 
Schlegel, 1759; Klopstock, 1803, the immortal author of the Messiah; Zim- 
merman, 1795, whose work on Solitude has been extensively perused ; and 
Wieland, 1813, successful alike in romance and poetry. Gothe, 1832, has been 
regarded as a sort of divinity, and he is unquestionably the founder of modern 
German literature ; hardly less admiration has been accorded to his illustrious 
contemporary, Schiller, 1805, whose dramatic and historical works possess a 
constantly increasing reputation. The profound metaphysical views of Kant, 
1804, have created a wonderful sensation in Europe. Fabricius, 1736, was 
renowned for his classical attainments; history has produced Struve, 1738; 
Mosheim, 1755; and Schlozer, 1809. Gesner, 1761, and Ernesti, 1781, are 
famed for their philological studies. Chemistry was cultivated by Stahl, 1734 ; 
medicine by Hoffman, 1742, as also by the celebrated Swiss poet and physician, 
Haller, 1777. The name of Fahrenheit, 1743, is well known in connexion 
with the thermometer. Euler, 1783, rendered important services to mathe- 
matical science ; Werner, 1817, has acquired a European reputation in refer- 
ence to the comparatively new study of geology ; and Lavater, 1801, attracted 
considerable attention by his fanciful work on physiognomy. The German 
school of painting was illustrated by the splendid historical productions of 
Mengs, 1779 ; it also presents many eminent landscape artists, among whom 
may be mentioned Dietrich, 1774, and Gesner, 1788. The science of music 
is perhaps mainly indebted to the composers of Germany. During this cen- 
tury, she furnished the great names of Handel, 1759, Mozart, 1791, Haydn, 
1S09, Beethoven, 1807, and Weber, 1826. 

Holland and the North. — Many eminent literary and scientific characters 
at this time appeared in Holland, though her imaginative writers have attracted 
less attention. Gronovius, 1716, celebrated for his classical attainments, wrote 
an admired work on Greek Antiquities. A new theory of medicine was founded 
by the illustrious Boerhaave, 1738, and further improved by Gaubius, 1780; 
Van Swieten, 1772, prosecuted the same science. Among various distinguish- 
ed philologists may be mentioned Schultens, 1750; Hoogeveen, 1794; and 
Valckenaer, 1820. In Sweden appeared Dalin, 1763, an eminent historian and 
poet ; the renowned Linnseus, 1778, whose sexual system of botany has been 
generally adopted throughout Europe ; and Wallerius, 1785, known as an 
industrious chemist and mineralogist. Denmark produced Holberg, 1754, 
whose versatile talents were alternately turned to the drama, satire, and his- 
tory ; Ewald, 1781, the greatest and most admired of modern northern poets; 
Suhm, 1798, author of a valuable history of Denmark ; and Pontoppidan, 1764, 
celebrated for his natural history of Norway. Pallas, 18 il, a native of Prussia, 
is connected with Russian literature by his travels in the southern portions of 
that empire, and his valuable contributions to its natural history. 



490 MODERN HISTORY. 



NINETEENTH CENTURY. 

Great Britain.— 1801, Irish Union.— 1802, Peace of Amiens.— 1805, Victory 

of Trafalgar.— 1808, Peninsular War.— 1810, Regency.— 1812, War with 

the United States. — 1814, Battle of Toulouse. — 1815, Waterloo. — 1820, 

George IV. 
France.— 1800, Marengo and Hohenlinden.— 1802, Peace of Amiens.— 1804, 

Napoleon Emperor. — 1805, Austerlitz. — 1806, Jena. — Berlin Decrees. — 

1807, Eylau. — Treaty of Tilsit.— Occupation of Portugal ; Usurpation in 

Spain.— 1809, Wagram. — 1810, Napoleon marries Maria Louisa. — 1812, 

Russian Campaign. — 1813, Leipsic. — 1814, First Treaty of Paris. — 1815, 

The Hundred Days ; Waterloo. — Louis XVIII. ; the Charter. 
Spain. — 1807, Treaty of Fontainebleau.— 1808, Charles IV. abdicated. — Joseph 

Bonaparte; Siege of Saragossa. — 1813, Battle of Vittoria. — Ferdinand VII. 
Portugal. — 1807, French Invasion. — 1808, Convention of Cintra. — 1810, John 

VI.— 1821, Popular Constitution. 
Italy. — 1799, Parthenopean Republic. — 1806, Joseph Bonaparte King of 

Naples.— Battle of Maida.— 1808, Murat King.— 1812, Sicilian Constitution. 

— 1815, New federal Compact of Zurich. 
Germany. — 1805, Confederation of the Rhine. — 1809, Battle of Aspern.— 

Tyrolese War. — 1815, Germanic League. 
Holland. — 1806, Louis Bonaparte King. — 1810, Incorporation with France. 

1815, William Frederick I. King of United Netherlands. 
Denmark. — 1801, Battle of the Baltic. — 1807, Bombardment of Copenhagen. 

1814, Cession of Norway to Sweden. 
Sweden.— 1809, Gustavus IV. deposed; Charles XIII. — 1810, Bernadotte 

Crown Prince.— 1818, Charles XIV. 
Prussia.— 1797, Frederick III.— 1806, Defeat at Jena.— 1813, War with 

France; Landsturm ; Blucher. — Lutzen and Bautzen; Leipsic. — 1814, 

Restoration of Territories. 
Russia. — 1801, Paul I. assassinated; Alexander I. — 1807, Friedland ; Treaty 

of Tilsit.— 1809-1812, Turkish War.— 1812, French Invasion ; Burning of 

Moscow. — 1815, Kingdom of Poland. 
Turkey. — 1806, Insurrection of Janissaries; Mustapha IV. — Mahmoud II. — 

1812, Peace of Bucharest. 
British India. — 1803, Mahratta War; Battle of Assaye. — 1813, Marquis of 

Hastings ; Pindaree War. — 1818, British paramount throughout India. 
United States. — 1801, Mr. Jefferson President. — 1803, Purchase of Louisiana. 

1812, War with Britain. — 1814, Treaty of Ghent.— 1817, Acquisition of 

Florida. 
Brazil. — 1822, Declaration of Independence ; Don Pedro Emperor. — 1824, 

Constitution. 
Spanish Colonies. — 1810, Revolution in Caraccas. — 1816, Buenos Ayres. — 

1818, Chili. — 1821, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. — 1824, Victory of Aya- 

cucho ; Final Expulsion of Spaniards. 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 491 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



The legislative union with Ireland, effected on the first day of the 
present century, secured to that country most of the commercial privi- 
leges which the people had long demanded : twenty-eight temporal and 
four spiritual peers, with one hundred commoners, were admitted to the 
British, now called the Imperial Parliament; while their proportion of 
the public burdens was fixed by an equitable adjustment.* On the 
Continent, the events of the campaign of 1800 were most unfavourable 
to Austria ; so that, in the beginning of next year, the emperor was com- 
pelled to sign a peace at Luneville, by which the French became masters 
of all Europe west of the Rhine and south of the Adige. The Czar, 
also, who had become a warm friend of Napoleon, seized upon all the 
British vessels in his ports ; while Denmark and Sweden appeared to 
be on the point of joining him in a confederacy against England. In 
these circumstances, Sir Hyde Parker was despatched with an arma- 
ment to the Baltic, under whom Nelson proved so successful against 
the Danish fleet, as to reduce that country to a state of neutrality. 
Further operations in that quarter were interrupted by the death of the 
Emperor Paul : his son and successor, Alexander, immediately disclaim- 
ing all hostile intentions, formed an amicable convention with Great 
Britain. About this time, an army which had been sent to drive the 
French out of Egypt, succeeded in effecting its purpose, though with the 
loss of its brave commander, Sir Ralph Abercromby, who was mortally 
w T ounded at the battle of Alexandria, March 21. Nevertheless, the 
signal triumphs of France on the Continent, joined to the sufferings of 
a famine which at this time bore hard on the great body of the people, 
produced a general desire for peace; and in order to facilitate such an 
arrangement, a new ministry had been formed under Mr. Addington in 
the beginning of the year. A negotiation was accordingly opened, 
which terminated in a definitive treaty signed at Amiens, March 27, 
1 802 ; England retaining several of her colonial conquests, while her 
opponent remained unquestioned mistress of the Continent. 

The public joy at this event was however destined to be of short dura- 
tion. Bonaparte, who had now, as First Consul, concentrated the whole 
government of France in his hands, took advantage of several unsettled 
points in the treaty, and showed a disposition so evidently unfriendly, 
as to provoke the British to retaliate by retaining Malta, of which they 
had obtained possession in 1800, and the war was accordingly recom- 
menced in May 1803. The latter immediately laid an embargo on the 
French shipping in their ports, and employed a naval force to occupy 
such of the West India Islands as still belonged to the enemy ; while 
Napoleon, seizing upon great numbers of English visiters then in France, 
confined them as prisoners of war. He was able also to overrun Hano- 
ver, and exclude British commerce from Hamburg; and while an im- 
mense flotilla was collected at Boulogne, for the avowed purpose of 

* Notwithstanding the general fairness of this measure, however, the Irish viewed 
with great discontent the abolition of their national legislature ; and their feelings in 
this respect led to a conspiracy in 1803, under Emmett and Russell, for seizing the seat of 
government. After some tumults in the streets of Dublin, in which several persons lost 
their lives, the mob was dispersed by the military, and their leaders, being seized, were 
tried and executed. 



492 MODERN HISTORY. 

invading England. In April 1804, Mr. Pitt was again called to the 
head of affairs ; and next year that able statesman succeeded in organ- 
izing a new coalition, consisting of Russia, Sweden, Austria, and Naples, 
to oppose the ambition of the French ruler. He, on the other hand, 
having become absolute master of Holland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, 
made every exertion to contest the empire of the sea. A combined fleet 
of thirty-three sail, partly French and partly Spanish, met a British 
squadron of twenty-seven under Nelson, off Cape Trafalgar, October 25, 
and was totally defeated, though at the expense of the life of the British 
commander. The exertions of the allies, however, could oppose no 
barrier to the extraordinary fortune of Napoleon in continental Europe, 
where the decisive victory of Austerlitz once more prostrated the 
power of Austria, and enabled him to dictate a humiliating peace to her 
monarch before the end of the year. This event produced much gloom 
in the British councils, and proved a deathblow to Mr. Pitt, who expired 
on the 23d January 1806. A new ministry was forthwith formed under 
his great political rival, Mr. Fox; but that statesman dying on the 13th 
September following, it was in the next year succeeded by another, of 
which Mr. Perceval was the recognised leader. One of the first acts 
of the new cabinet was the despatch of an armament to Copenhagen, tc 
seize and carry off the Danish navy, which was expected to be imme- 
diately employed in subserviency to France. The object of the expedi- 
dition was easily accomplished ; but this attack on a neutral power was 
very unfavourably regarded by foreign states, and the Emperor of Rus- 
sia, in particular, having made peace with France, seized the opportunity 
to recall his ambassador from London. Various expeditions had about 
the same time been sent to the Dardanelles, to Egypt, and against the 
Spanish settlements on the River Plate in South America, none of which 
were attended with any advantage. 

In 1808, nearly the whole of the Continent might be considered as 
arrayed in hostility to England. The Austrians had been compelled to 
yield a large portion of their territory to Napoleon ; by the battles of 
Jena and Auerstadt, he had annihilated the power of Prussia ; Italy, 
Spain, and Portugal were in his hands ; Russia had made peace with 
him ; and by his famous Berlin decrees, declaring Great Britain in a 
state of blockade, he shut the ports of Europe against her merchandise. 
But this signal elevation, and the tyranny which it produced, began to 
awaken against the French emperor a spirit he had not hitherto encoun- 
tered. Down to this period, the contest had been one more of govern- 
ments than of people, and the triumphs of his arms were viewed with 
no small degree of sympathy by many even in the subjugated countries; 
but now he began to be regarded as the common enemy of mankind, 
whose boundless ambition it was every one's duty to repress. The first 
symptoms of this reaction were manifested in Spain, where the inhabit- 
ants, exasperated by the usurpations of the French, roused themselves 
to insurrection, and implored assistance from Britain. An expedition 
of about ten thousand men was accordingly fitted out, under the com- 
mand of Sir Arthur Wellesley, which, after some communication with 
the Spanish leaders, was directed in the first instance to Portugal. This 
force, having landed in Mondego Bay, soon afterwards defeated the 
French under Junot at Vimieiro, August 21 ; upon which, a convention 
was entered into with Sir Hew Dalrymple, who had subsequently taken 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D 493 

the command, for the evacuation of the kingdom by the enemy's troops. 
The direction of military affairs was next conferred on Sir John Moore, 
who arrived in the month of November with large reinforcements ; and 
that general immediately led the British army into Spain, where, how- 
ever, he soon found himself unable to withstand the immense force 
brought against him by Napoleon. He was therefore compelled to 
commence a retreat towards the port of Corunna, whither he was closely 
pursued by Marshal Soult, during which, though suffering no material 
check, the troops were exposed to great hardships. In a battle fought 
at this place for the purpose of protecting the embarkation, Sir John 
was killed, January 16, 1809; but the French general being repulsed, 
the British gained their ships in safety. 

Sir Arthur Wellesley was again called to lead an army to the Penin- 
sula, and in April he landed in Portugal with a considerable force. He 
obliged his opponents to abandon Oporto, and then made a bold march 
upon Madrid. On the 28th July, he repulsed a formidable army under 
Victor at Talavera; and though compelled shortly after to fall back upon 
Portugal, this partial success greatly elevated the hopes of the British 
nation, and the general ]iimself was raised to the peerage. About this 
time, also, a formidable expedition was sent to the island of Walcheren 
under Lord Chatham, which the unheal thiness of the climate and the 
inexperience of the commander, combined to bring to a disastrous issue. 
Austria, too, which had again been overpowered, was compelled to seal 
a peace by the marriage of Maria Louisa, daughter of the emperor, to 
Napoleon. 

In 1810, the French ruler largely reinforced his armies in Spain, and 
gave orders to Massena to drive the British out of the Peninsula. Lord 
Wellington posted his troops, eighty thousand in number, on the heights 
of Busaco; and was there attacked, on the 27th September, by an equal 
number of enemies. The combined British and Portuguese army be- 
haved with great b r avery, and the assailants were repulsed with immense 
loss ; but the vie* jr nevertheless resolved on retiring to the lines of Tor- 
res Vedras, where he remained on the defensive. The intellect of 
George III., which had already displayed several temporary aberrations, 
gave way entirely at the close of this year, and rendered the appointment 
of a regent indispensable. The Prince of Wales was accordingly in- 
vested with that dignity; and though he had hitherto seemed to side 
with the Whig party, whose proposal of Catholic emancipation he was 
understood to favour, the same ministry was continued in office, and no 
material change took place in the mode of conducting affairs. In 1811, 
much hard fighting occurred in Spain, where the French under Massena 
were again defeated at Fuentes d'Onoro, May 5. The town of Almeida 
subsequently fell into the hands of the British, a body of whom, com- 
manded by General Beresford, gained the bloody battle of Albuera over 
Soult ; while another detachment under General Graham was victorious 
at Barossa. Wellington, however, was forced to abandon the siege of 
Badajos; and at the close of the campaign he retired once more to his 
lines in Portugal. This year proved a period of unprecedented distress 
to the English people. The decrees of Napoleon against their commerce 
had provoked certain retaliatory orders in council, which, however 
harassing to the French, only increased the evil at home by interposing 
42 



494 MODERN HISTORY. 

new obstacles to the trade with neutral powers ; and much discontent 
consequently prevailed among the manufacturing and mercantile classes. 

On the 11th of May 1812, Mr. Perceval, the premier, was shot in the 
lobby of the House of Commons by a man named Bellingham, who had 
become insane in consequence of private misfortunes ; and Lords Liver- 
pool and Castlereagh, with several others, were called to the direction 
of affairs. At this time the United States of America, now a powerful 
nation, provoked by the orders in council, and by the right assumed by 
the British to search for and impress English seamen on board their 
commercial shipping, declared war against Britain. The events of this 
contest were of little interest in comparison with that waged on the con- 
tinent of Europe, consisting chiefly of encounters between single ships, 
and some detached operations on the Canadian frontier and other parts 
of America; and it ended in 1814 without settling any of the points in 
dispute. 

Meanwhile, the tide of success in Europe was beginning to change. 
The fatal expedition to Moscow had annihilated the grand army of Na- 
poleon; and early in 1813, the Emperor Alexander, now aided by the 
King of Prussia and various minor princes, took the field against him in 
Northern Germany, where they were speedily joined by the Emperor of 
Austria. In the Peninsula, too, in the course of the year 1812, Lord 
Wellington had gained the brilliant victory of Salamanca, and taken 
possession of Madrid ; and though again compelled to retreat into Por- 
tugal, he had succeeded in inspiring his army with the highest degree 
of confidence and enthusiasm, and was appointed by the Spanish cortes 
generalissimo of their forces. Taking the field in May 1813, he soon 
after totally defeated the French under King Joseph and Marshal Jour- 
dan, at Vittoria, June 21 ; and, driving the fugitives across the Pyrenees, 
entered France on the 7th October. In the spring of 1814, this gallant 
army crossed the Adour, aided by a naval squadron under Admiral Pen- 
rose, and advancing to Bordeaux, were welcomed as deliverers ; and 
finally, in a severe engagement at Toulouse, fought on the 10th of April, 
totally defeated the army commanded by Marshal Soult. The allies 
also, who had steadily advanced through Germany, crossed the Rhine 
early in 1814 ; and having gained a victory before Paris on the 30th of 
March, took possession of that city the following day. Shortly after, a 
treaty was ratified with Napoleon, by which he agreed to resign the 
government and content himself for the future with the sovereignty of 
Elba, a small island in the Mediterranean. On the 30th May, p^ace 
was formally concluded with France, by which that country was reduced 
nearly to the limits she had possessed in 1792, but received back her 
colonies with a few exceptions ; England also retaining Malta, the Cape 
of Good Hope, and the island of Heligoland. The Emperor of Russia 
and the King of Prussia visited London soon after, and were received 
with great rejoicings; while Wellington, now created a duke, was pre- 
sented by the House of Commons with a grant of £400,000, in addition 
to £100,000 previously awarded. A congress of representatives from 
the various powers met at Vienna on the 2d October, and proceeded to 
settle the limits of the different countries, disturbed by the casualties of 
war. Throughout the whole arrangements, Great Britain acted with 
the utmost disinterestedness; a course of conduct which could hardly 
have been looked for, after the extraordinary sufferings and expenses she 
had borne during the contest; 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 495 

Early in 1815, these proceedings were interrupted by the news that 
Napoleon had landed in France, where he was joyfully received by the 
soldiery. To oppose him, the Prussian and British armies, of 100,000 
and 80,000 men respectively, were quickly collected in the Netherlands, 
while larger bodies of Austrians and Russians were approaching. After 
various detached operations, and some severe fighting, in the course of 
which Napoleon laboured to prevent that concert which was desirable 
between the confederated generals, the force under his own immediate 
command, amounting to about 80,000 men, was, on the 18th June, 
directed against Wellington alone, who, with 72,000 troops, of whom 
about 60,000 might be reckoned effective, had taken a position across 
the road to Brussels, near a village called Waterloo. The battle, one 
of the most obstinately contested that history records, consisted through- 
out the day of a constant succession of attacks by the French upon the 
British lines, attended with immense bloodshed, but in every case 
repelled with the utmost fortitude. About seven in the evening, Napo- 
leon brought up his reserve, the flower of his infantry, in the hope of 
breaking the British centre ; but the English guards, not waiting the 
charge, rushed to meet them, and the enemy fled in confusion. At the 
same time, the Prussians under Blucher came up, attacked the enemy 
on the right flank, and decided the fate of the day. The baffled and 
broken host fled in all directions, their disappointed commander taking 
the route to Paris. Finding it impossible to restore the confidence of 
his counsellors, he made a fruitless abdication in favour of his son, and 
repaired to Rochefort, with the view of embarking for America; but, 
perceiving that he could not escape the vigilance of the British cruisers, 
he surrendered himself to Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon, and was 
soon after condemned by the triumphant allies to perpetual confinement 
on the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821. 

Thus terminated this long and sanguinary contest, which had involved 
every nation in Europe, and occasioned an amount of bloodshed and 
devastation unparalleled in the annals of modern times. The shores of 
Britain were happily protected from its ravages ; but her national debt 
was augmented to the enormous sum of £800,000,000, and she may be 
said to have gained little besides the renown accruing from her great 
achievements. Nevertheless, Europe was freed from the ambition of an 
insolent and unprincipled dictator, whom nothing short of universal em- 
pire would have satisfied ; and the nations at large received the import- 
ant lesson, which it may be hoped will not speedily be forgotten, that 
an empire founded on injustice and aggression can never attain a perma- 
nent existence ; and that a course of peaceful improvement, as it is the 
only means of securing the prosperity of the people, should ever be 
regarded as the chief aim and highest glory of their rulers. 

George III. died on the 29th January 1820, and was succeeded by the Prince 
Regent as George IV. Throughout the period from 1800, notwithstanding 
the immense burdens of the war, the country on the whole presented the 
appearance of prosperity, being able to preserve her commerce in consequence 
of the superiority of her naval force, while great improvements were made in 
machinery and agriculture. A remarkable event was the application of steam 
to navigation, which was originally attempted in Scotland in 1788; in 1807, 
Fulton launched the first steam-boat on the Hudson River in the United States ; 
and five years later, a similar vessel was tried at Helensburgh on the Clyde. 
Great exertions were made for the instruction of children by means of Sunday 



496 MODERN HISTORY. 

schools; and the educational improvements of Dr. Bell and of Mi Joseph 
Lancaster were widely introduced. Various societies also arose, whose object 
t was to circulate the Scriptures, and carry the blessings of the gospel, by 
means of missionaries, to heathen countries. On the 11th June 1806, chiefly 
through the persevering efforts of Mr. Wilberforce, the African slave-trade was 
abolished by the legislature ; and great exertions continued to be made for the 
extinction of slavery in the colonies, which has since been happily accom- 
plished. Numerous expeditions were also fitted out for the purpose of geo- 
graphical discovery ; while expeditious travelling by stage-coaches, and rapid 
transmission of intelligence, became general throughout the kingdom. 

FRANCE. 

The important revolution which Bonaparte had the address to effect 
in the government of France, actually vested in himself the sole autho- 
rity, legislative and executive ; and the " new constitution," as it was 
called, was solemnly proclaimed on the 24th December 1799. Latterly, 
so little confidence had been felt in the directory, and so much confusion 
existed in consequence of the weakness and vacillation of its members, 
that this triumph of despotism was hailed with general satisfaction; 
public credit was instantly restored, and even the disturbed districts of 
La Vendee adhered to the new order of things. The first consul now 
made overtures of peace to England and Austria; but these being reject- 
ed from a suspicion of his insincerity, he immediately turned his atten- 
tion to the war against the latter country. Moreau, who had received 
the command of the army of the Rhine, successfully prosecuted the con- 
test in Germany; while Napoleon himself, at the head of that of Italy, 
crossed the Great St. Bernard from Switzerland, — an achievement hith- 
erto deemed impracticable. On the 2d of June 1800, he entered Milan 
without opposition ; and soon after met the Austrians on the plain of 
Marengo. Here, on the 14th, he was attacked by General Melas, who 
had at first so much the advantage, that Bonaparte at one period wavered ; 
but the battle was restored by the gallantry of General Desaix, who was 
killed in the act of leading on a decisive charge of cavalry. A signal 
victory was the consequence ; after which the Austrian general obtained 
an armistice, withdrawing his troops to the line of Mantua and the 
Mincio, while the French retained the greater part of Lombardy. The 
victor shortly after returned to Paris, having established provisional go- 
vernments in Milan, Turin, and Genoa ; and negotiations for peace took 
place between Austria and France. These being broken off in conse- 
quence of the non-adherence of England, the war recommenced, and the 
Austrians under the Archduke John were defeated by Moreau at Hohen- 
linden, December 3. Another armistice followed ; and at length, on the 
9th February 1801, the emperor signed a separate treaty at Luneburg, 
by which he recognised the independence of the Batavian, Swiss, Cisal- 
pine, and Ligurian republics, and the Rhine was declared the boundary 
between the French and Austrian dominions. The King of Naples soon 
after obtained peace ; and even the new Pope, Pius VII., was acknow- 
ledged by Bonaparte, who left him in possession of the greater part of 
the church patrimony. Malta having surrendered to the British, aril the 
war in Egypt being at an end by the capitulation of Menou, who had 
succeeded Kleber in the command, the chief obstacles to a pacific 
arrangement with that country were now removed. Preliminaries were 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 497 

accordingly signed at London on the 1st October, and in the following 
March tranquillity was restored by the definitive treaty of Amiens. 

Napoleon seems at this time to have been sincerely anxious for peace, 
in order to consolidate his position, and carry into effect several great 
designs which he had formed. The extreme sections of the republicans 
and royalists were still hostile to his dictatorship ; and on the 24th Sep- 
tember 1800, he had nearly fallen a victim to a conspiracy of the latter, 
a wagon containing several barrels of gunpowder having been exploded 
in a narrow street as he was passing in his carriage to the opera. Spe- 
cial tribunals were after this established to try persons accused of trea- 
son ; while a secret police was skilfully organized by Fouche, having 
informers of all classes in his pay. A general amnesty, with some 
exceptions, was nevertheless granted, in April 1801, to all emigrants 
who chose to return to France and take the oath of fidelity to the present 
government. By a concordat with the Pope, published at Paris in 1802, 
the Romish religion was re-established, though shorn of much of the 
importance it had formerly possessed ; the sales of ecclesiastical property 
which had taken place being sanctioned, and the Protestants not only 
receiving full liberty of worship, but even the support of a public endow- 
ment. A new order of knighthood was also established on the 19th 
May, under the designation of the Legion of Honour. In January 1802, 
iionaparte assumed the title of President of the Cisalpine Republic, and 
in the following August a decree of the senate conferred on him the dig- 
nity of first consul for life. The independence and neutrality of Swit- 
zerland were recognised, but the cantons were required to maintain a body 
of 16,000 men in the service of France. The first consul also turned 
his attention to the various branches of public instruction, though the 
institutions which he framed for this purpose were entirely military in 
their character, and contributed in a great measure to consolidate his 
despotism. His most valuable gift to France was perhaps the promul- 
gation at this time of the celebrated civil code which bears his name, 
drawn up by a commission of lawyers under the presidency of Camba- 
ceres, at whose meetings Napoleon himself frequently attended. 

It soon became evident that the peace of Amiens would not be perma- 
nent. In October 1802, Parma was seized and incorporated with 
France, and a similar appropriation of Piedmont took place a month 
afterwards ; while the English, who had agreed to restore Malta to the 
Knights of St. John, resolved on retaining that island. Hostilities were 
recommenced in May 1803, by the issue of letters of marque by the 
Cabinet of London, and an embargo on all French vessels in their ports. 
In retaliation for this, a decree was promulgated, ordering that all natives 
of Britain, of whatever condition, then in the territories of France and 
Holland, should be detained as prisoners of war. At the same time, 
the French armies entered Hanover, and took possession of it with little 
resistance; while an immense force was collected at Boulogne, under 
the designation of " the army of England," for the invasion of that 
country — an enterprise, however, which Napoleon never found it con- 
venient to attempt. 

In February 1804, an extensive conspiracy was discovered at Paris 
against the government, in which Generals Pichegru and Moreau, and 
Georges Cadoudal, a Chouan chief, were implicated. Affecting to be- 
lieve that the young Duke of Enghien, then living in the grand-iuc'.v of 
42 * 



498 MODERN HISTORY. 

Baden, was concerned in this plot, the first consul sent a body of 
gendarmes across the frontier to arrest him. The duke was accordingly 
seized and brought to the castle of Vincennes near Paris, where, after a 
mock trial, he was shot on the 21st March, — an act which affixes an 
indelible stain on the memory of Napoleon, not the slightest evidence 
of the charge having ever been produced. Pichegru was shortly after 
found dead in prison, Moreau was banished from France, and Georges 
was executed. Meantime a motion had been carried in the tribunate, 
and subsequently passed the senate, creating Bonaparte " Emperor of 
the French," and reinvesting him in that capacity with the government 
of the republic. He accordingly assumed this new dignity on the 24th 
May ; and on the 2d December he was solemnly crowned by the Pope, 
who had been induced to come to Paris for that purpose. To complete 
his elevation, the ancient iron diadem of the Longobard kings was 
offered him by his obsequious creatures in Italy ; and on the 26tL ®<Iay 
he was formally anointed sovereign of that country, Genoa being united 
to his empire a few days afterwards. 

These and other usurpations of the French ruler at length induced 
Russia and Austria to listen to the solicitations of England; and in the 
summer of 1805 a new coalition was formed. With his usual prompti- 
tude, Napoleon in October burst into Germany, where he was joined by 
the Duke of Wurtemburg and the Elector of Bavaria, who were rewarded 
by his conferring on each the title of king. General Mack, allowing 
himself to be surrounded at Ulm, was compelled to surrender his whole 
force of 20,000 men on the 24th ; and the other scattered corps of Aus- 
trians, being unable to offer any effectual resistance, the French entered 
Vienna on the 13th November. On the 27th was fought the great battle 
of Austerlitz, which ended in the total overthrow of the combined Rus- 
sian and Austrian armies, and enabled the victor to dictate peace on his 
own terms. By the treaty of Presburg, signed on the 2Gth December, 
he was recognised in his dignities of French emperor and king of Italy, 
as were also the titles of the newly made kings of Bavaria and Wurtein- 
berg. Venice was ceded to France, and the Tyrol to Bavaria ; the 
Emperor of Russia withdrew his troops into his own territories; and the 
King of Prussia received Hanover as a reward for his neutrality, and 
perhaps also with the view of provoking a rupture between him and 
George III. Britain now alone remained in opposition to Napoleon ; 
and the decisive naval victory achieved by her fleet at Trafalgar dissi- 
pated all his hopes of invading that country. However, in February 
1806, he sent an army to take possession of Naples, because the king 
had allowed a Russian and English force to land in his dominions ; and 
in the following March the crown of that country was conferred on his 
brother Joseph. Louis Bonaparte was soon after made sovereign of 
Holland ; various districts in Italy and Germany were erected into duke 
doms, and bestowed on his principal marshals; while fourteen princes 
in the south and west of Germany were induced to form what was called 
the Confederation of the Rhine, and place themselves under the protec- 
tion of France. 

Notwithstanding the bribe of Hanover, this perpetual aggression on 
the part of the French ruler had been viewed by Prussia with the utmost 
alarm; and though afraid to break her neutrality during the late cam- 
naign in Germany, she at length entered into a league with Russia, and 



NINETEENTH CENTUEY A. D. 499 

leclared war against him. Bonaparte instantly put his troops in mo- 
tion. On the 14th October he gained the double victory of Auerstadt 
and Jena, which at once laid the whole kingdom at his feet; and in a 
few days he entered the capital. Here, on the 21st November, he issued 
his celebrated Berlin decrees against British commerce, preposterously 
declaring the whole of Great Britain in a state of blockade, and ordering 
English property wherever found to be seized as lawful prize. He 
soon afterwards marched into Poland against the Russians, who were 
advancing to the Vistula ; but received a severe check at Pultusk on the 
28th December. The sanguinary but undecisive conflict of Eylau fol- 
lowed on the 8th of February 1807 ; and at length, on the 14th June, 
the Russians were worsted at Friedland, and driven beyond the Aller. 
The emperor Alexander then entered into negotiations, and a peace was 
concluded at Tilsit, July 7. By the terms of this treaty, Alexander 
agreed to aid Napoleon in his designs against British commerce, and the 
King of Prussia received back about half of his dominions: of the other 
half, one portion was given to the Elector of Saxony, now honoured 
with the title of royalty ; the rest went to aggrandize the new kingdom 
of Westphalia, erected out of the dominions of Brunswick and Hesse- 
Cassel, which was given to Jerome Bonaparte. 

The French emperor had now attained such a pitch of elevation, that 
he fancied he might dispose of the sovereignties of the continent at his 
pleasure. In the month of October, the Moniteur contained the arro- 
gant announcement, that " the house of Braganza had ceased to reign 
in Europe." Marshal Junot was immediately sent through Spain with 
an army to invade Portugal ; the prince regent, feeling resistance to be 
vain, quietly embarked for Brazil ; and on the 30th November, the 
French took possession of Lisbon. In the following year, the King of 
Spain himself was compelled to resign his crown to the disposal of 
Napoleon, who removed his brother Joseph from Naples to the throne 
of that country, and raised his favourite general Murat to the vacant 
dignity. Both Charles IV. and his son Ferdinand were brought to 
France, and retained as state prisoners. The memorable events which 
resulted from these nefarious transactions are noticed under Spain and 
Great Britain ; it may therefore be sufficient to allude to the perse- 
vering resistance of the Spanish nation as the first indication of that 
popular awakening which eventually proved fatal to the dynasty of 
Bonaparte. Meantime, a new war with Austria was on the point of 
breaking out. That country, though humbled, was not subdued : the 
emperor felt impatient under his past losses, and eager to redeem them, 
while the warlike pride of his subjects writhed under the consciousness 
of defeat. By great exertions their armies had been augmented to nearly 
half a million of men ; and in the spring of 1809 the Tyrolese threw off 
the Bavarian yoke. The Archduke Charles commanded in Germany, 
the Archduke John in Italy. The French monarch quickly assembled 
his forces beyond the Rhine, advanced to Augsburg, and, by one of 
his most skilful manoeuvres, broke the line of his antagonists, gained 
the successive victories of Echmuhl and Essling, and once more took 
possession of Vienna, May 12, 1809. The archduke now collected 
his army on the left bank of the Danube; Napoleon crossed over to 
attack him; and though worsted in the obstinate battle of Aspern, May 
21, he speedily reinforced his army, and on the 6th of July gained the 



500 MODERJN HISTORY. 

famous triumph of Wagram. He then dictated a peace, styled the 
treaty of Schonbrunn, which was ratified on the 14th October. 

This extraordinary man now resolved to complete his elevation by a 
matrimonial alliance with the most illustrious house in Europe. He 
divorced the Empress Josephine, to whom he is believed to have been 
always sincerely attached, and received the hand of the Archduchess 
Maria Louisa of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Francis. The mar- 
riage ceremony, in which the Archduke Charles acted as Napoleon's 
proxy, was performed at Vienna on the 1 1th March 1810; and the new 
empress shortly after set out for Paris, where in the following year she 
gave birth to a son, who was declared King of Rome. The entire con- 
tinent was now to all appearance prostrate at the feet of the French 
autocrat, who in fact controlled the destinies of eighty millions of people. 
The brave Tyrolese had been abandoned to their fate. The Pope, long 
dissatisfied, having at length excommunicated him, had been arrested on 
the 5th July 1809, and carried prisoner, first to Savona, and afterwards 
to Fontainebleau. Bernadotte, one of his generals, was elected succes- 
sor to the throne of Sweden; and Louis, king of Holland, having con- 
nived at a clandestine intercourse with England, was dispossessed of 
his crown, and the Dutch territories were incorporated with France in 
December 1810. 

Bonaparte had now attained the crisis of his destiny, and the period 
was at hand when the slumbering energies of the continental nations 
were to be effectually roused. The commercial interests of all Europe 
were fearfully injured by the effect of the measures taken to destroy the 
trade of England, and every scheme was tried to evade them. The 
Emperor of Russia, though he had hitherto adhered to the treaty of Til- 
sit, repented a policy which was daily aggrandizing his overbearing 
rival ; and in the end of 1810, braving his resentment, he renewed his 
intercourse with the court of London, and began to prepare for war. 
Napoleon, on his part, made vast exertions for the approaching struggle. 
In the spring of 1812, an immense host, numbering nearly half a million 
if combatants, was assembled on the banks of the Niemen, the frontier 
>f Russia, where, on the 22d June, he formally declared hostilities. 
Crossing the river on the 24th, he soon after took possession of "Wilna, 
and arrived at Witebsk about the end of July. On the lfith August, the 
two armies met under the walls of Smolensk ; but that city, after a 
vigorous contest, was abandoned by the Russian general, who continued 
to retreat upon Moscow. At length, on the 7th September, a great 
battle was fought at Borodino, a village near the banks of ths river 
Moskva, where, after fearful slaughter on both sides, the French had the 
advantage. KutusofT, the Russian commander, now resolved t<> aban- 
don Moscow to its fate, rather than weaken his arm} r by another con- 
flict ; and the invader accordingly entered that capital on the 14th 
September. Here, however, was the limit of his advance, and from 
this moment may be dated the destruction of that mighty host which he 
believed to be invincible. The city was found to be deserted by all but 
a few of the lowest class of people, and soon after the entrance of the 
French it was observed to be on fire in various quarters. The soldiers, 
flushed with success, were too intent on plunder to take any effectual 
steps to arrest the flames, which, fanned by a high wind, raged on the 
night of the 15th with fearful fury. On the third day the army was 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 501 

compelled to evacuate the city, which it could not re-enter until the 21st. 
Napoleon then took up his residence in the Kremlin ; and it was found 
that a sufficient number of houses had escaped the conflagration to afford 
quarters for his men. Here, however, destitute of all other supplies, 
they were compelled to subsist upon the flesh of their horses ; and 
Napoleon, despairing of his position, was compelled to sue for peace. 
Kutusoff, to whom the proposal was made, nobly answered, that no 
terms could be entered into while an enemy remained on the soil of 
Russia ; and at length, all hope of an accommodation being at an end, 
the French army, though in the face of a northern winter, received orders 
to retreat. 

The main body quitted Moscow on the 19th October, followed by a 
long train of carriages laden with spoil, and closely pursued by the 
Russian forces. In a severe encounter at Malo Jaroslavetz, the French 
had the advantage on the whole; but they were soon to bear the assault 
of an enemy against which skill and valour were of no avail, — the snows 
of winter began to fall on the 6th of November. From this period the 
history of the retreat presents an unbroken series of calamities unparal- 
leled in the annals of human suffering. Of 120,000 fighting men who 
had left Moscow, hardly 12,000 reached the banks of the Beresina; 
40,000 horses had dwindled away to 3000. Here, joined by 50,000 of 
the reserve under Victor and Oudinot, Napoleon prepared to cross the 
river; and in this enterprise, being opposed by the enemy, he lost one- 
half of the army thus reinforced.. Soon after, leaving the miserable 
remnant in charge of Murat, he set out in a sledge for Paris, where he 
arrived at midnight on the 18th of December, and where the news of 
these awful reverses, which fell on the French nation like a clap of 
thunder, had but shortly before preceded him.* 

Napoleon made prodigious exertions to organize a new army ; and 
though fresh levies could but poorly replace the veterans lost in Russia, 
he contrived, by the spring of 1813, to collect a force of 350,000 men. 
The King of Prussia had now allied himself to Alexander, who was 
also joined by Sweden; and the confederates' advanced as far as the 
Elbe. Nevertheless, the French emperor, still undismayed, repaired to 
Germany, and on the 2d of May gained a victory at Lutzen, followed a 
fortnight after by that of Bautzen. These battles, however, were not 
decisive; and, on the mediation of Austria, an armistice was agreed to, 
July 1, and a congress met at Prague to consider terms of peace. Bona- 
parte, still confident in his fortune, would listen to nothing calculated to 
limit his power; the armistice expired on the 10th August; and Austria 
immediately joined the allies. After various desultory engagements 
fought in the neighbourhood of Dresden and in Bohemia, during which 
his enemies were constantly gaining strength, Napoleon retreated upon 
Leipsic, where he determined to make a final stand. On the 16th Sep- 
tember a sanguinary conflict took place, with no decisive result; but on 
the 18th the French were signally defeated, and began a retrograde 
movement towards the Rhine. At Hanau, the army, completely disor- 
ganised, w r as forced to fight its way through the troops of Bavaria, which 
had now joined their enemies ; and on the 7th November, the emperor 

* Of the immense force which crossed the Niemen at the outset of the campaign, it has 
been calcu'sted that 1*25,000 perished in battle, 132,000 died of fatigue, hunger, and cold, 
and 193 000 were taken prisoners, including 43 generals and 3000 inferior officers. 



502 MODERN HISTORY. 

re-entered France with a remnant of only 70,000 men. About 80,000, 
left to garrison the Prussian fortresses, now surrendered to the allies ; 
while Holland threw off the yoke, and recalled the Prince of Orange. 

Nevertheless, the authority of the emperor, which was still great with 
the French people, enabled him to procure a new levy of 300,000 men, 
and he prepared with the utmost ardour for another campaign. Prince 
Schwartzenberg, commander-in-chief of the Austrians, along with the 
Russian generals Barclay de Tolli and Wittgenstein, were advancing 
on the Swiss frontier with 150,000 men; Blucher, the Prussian leader, 
was approaching with 130,000 from Frankfort; Bernadotte, with 100,000, 
converged towards the Netherlands; and the English, under Welling- 
ton, were near Bayonne. The confederates crossed the Rhine at the 
beginning of the year. In these circumstances, Napoleon had only one 
chance of preserving his crown and empire. In January 1814, confer- 
ences were held at Chatillon, when it was proposed to fix the limits of 
France as they were in 1792 ; but to this he would not listen, and there- 
fore lost all. At the end of the month he began a campaign, which has 
always been regarded as the most striking proof of his extraordinary 
military genius. The body of the French nation, exhausted by their 
previous sacrifices, had at length become dissatisfied with the headlong 
proceedings of their ruler, and both taxes and conscription were but par- 
tially collected. Nevertheless, with a force vastly inferior in number, 
he kept at bay the various hostile armies during two months, gained 
several brilliant successes, and electrified all Europe by the rapidity and 
skill of his movements. But the odds were too great; and while, by a 
bold stroke, he threw himself in the rear of the invaders, they at once 
marched to Paris, and on the 30th of March, after a severe contest, took 
possession of the line of defence which protected that city. The follow- 
ing day Paris capitulated ; and on the 2d of April the senate decreed that 
" Napoleon Bonaparte had forfeited the crown, that the hereditary right 
in his family was abolished, and the people and army released from 
their oaths of fidelity." 

On the 6th of the same month, Louis XVIII. was solemnly pro- 
claimed ; while the deposed emperor, finding that his generals would 
not join him in a last desperate attack on Paris, signed at Fontainebleau, 
on the 11th, an act of unconditional abdication, and shortly after set out 
for his new principality of Elba, where he was to enjoy a pension of six 
million francs, and retain the imperial title. 

Louis XVIII. made his public entry into Paris on the 3d of May, 
having previously given his assent in general terms to a constitutional 
charter drawn up by the senate. On the 30th, he concluded a formal 
peace with the allies, by which the continental dominions of Franct 
were restricted to what they had been in 1792; but England restored al. 
her colonial conquests, except the West India islands of St. Lucia and 
Tobago, and the isle of Mauritius. France thus obtained much bettei 
terms than could have been expected, after the intolerable evils she had 
so long inflicted upon Europe; and indeed, throughout all the arrange- 
ments, every care seems to have been taken by the conquerors to spare 
the feelings and honour of the nation. On the 1th of June, the king pre- 
sented to the legislature a constitutional charter, on the basis of that 
formerly drawn up by the senate, which was unanimously accepted, and 
became the fundamental law of the kingdom. Notwithstanding this, 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 503 

the boastings of the returned emigrants and various other circumstances, 
soon gave rise to a suspicion, which seems, however, to have been with- 
out foundation, that the court nourished the design of reverting to the 
despotic principles of the old monarchy. The faction of Bonaparte, still 
strong, and embracing the great mass of the soldiery, besides the im- 
mense number of veterans recenlly released from foreign prisons, loudly 
fomented the discontent; and at length a wide-spread conspiracy was 
organized for the recall of their banished leader. He, on his part, gladly 
responding to the invitation, left Elba towards the end of February 1815, 
and on the 1st March landed at the small town of Cannes, with about 
1000 men of his old guards. Advancing to Grenoble, he was there joined 
by Colonel Labedoyere and the 7th regiment of the line; soon after, 
Marshal Ney, who had been sent to stop his progress, went over to him ; 
and by the time he reached Fontainebleau, nearly the whole military 
force was once more under his standard. On the evening of the 20th 
March he re-entered the Tuileries, Louis XVIII. having left the capita 
early in the morning, whence he fled to Ostend, and afterwards to Ghent 
With the exception of Augereau, Marmont, Macdonald, and a few others 
nearly all the officials, civil and military, readily embraced the imperia 
cause, and Napoleon once more seated himself on the throne, by one of 
the most rapid transitions recorded in history. 

After a futile attempt to negotiate with the allies, he made gigantic 
exertions to maintain his recovered dignity by force of arms. He 
endeavoured also to strengthen his popularity, by engaging to govern 
as a constitutional sovereign; but as his chief resource lay in the army, 
it was clear that, should he be able to maintain his position, matters 
would soon revert to their former condition. The allies, on their side, 
having declared the usurper out of the pale of national law, prepared 
actively to oppose him; and an army was speedily assembled in the 
Netherlands under Blucher and Wellington. Bonaparte, desirous of 
fighting them before their forces could be united, hurried across the 
frontier at the head of about 125,000 select troops, June 15. On the 
16th, Blucher, after a bold resistance at Ligny, retreated to Wavre, 
while on the same day Marshal Ney attacked the English at Quatre 
Bras.* Preparations were then made for concentrating the allied forces 
at Waterloo, and on the ever-memorable 18th of June, Napoleon found 
himself face to face with a soldier whose fame only yielded to his own. 
This great battle has been already noticed under Great Britain ; at 
the close of the day, the hero of Marengo, abandoning his army, escaped 
with difficulty to Paris, the herald of his own discomfiture. The capital 
of France was once more occupied by foreign troops ; Bonaparte abdi- 
cated a second time ; and after vainly attempting to escape to America, 
surrendered to the English, and was sent b)' the allies to the island of 
St. Helena, where he died on the 5th May 1821. 

The eloquent Channing thus writes concerning this remarkable man ; and 
his opinion, as being a native of a country that never was engaged in war with 
France, may be considered an impartial one : — " Bonaparte was brought up in 
a military school ; his first political association was with the Jacobins ; his first 
command he secured by turning his arms on the people. His campaigns in 
Italy compel us to bestow the admiration due to a superior power- But mili- 

*The Duke of Brunswick, son of him who had commanded the Prussians at the outset 
of the Revolution, was killed in this battle. 



504 MODERN HISTORY. 

tary talent is one of the lower forms of genius ; the office of a great general 
not widely differing from that of a great mechanician, whose business it is to 
frame new combinations of physical forces, to adapt them to new circumstan- 
ces, and to remove new obstructions. — Bonaparte's intellect was distinguished 
by rapidity of thought. He understood war as a science ; but his mind was too 
bold to be enslaved by the technics of his profession. His unforeseen and 
impetuous assaults astonished and paralysed his enemies, and breathed into his 
own soldiers the enthusiasm of ruder ages. The signal success of his new 
mode of warfare had no small agency in fixing his character, and determining 
for a period the fate of empires. To astonish as well as to sway by his enef 
gies, became the great aim of his life. Power was his supreme object, — n 

Eower to be gazed at as well as felt. In peace he delighted to hurry through 
is dominions ; to project in an instant works that a life could not accomplish, 
and to leave behind the impression of a superhuman energy. His history 
shows a spirit of self-exaggeration unrivalled in enlightened ages. He had no 
sympathies with his race, and this was the chief source of his crimes. Trea- 
ties only bound his enemies : no nation had any rights but his own France. 
His original propensities, released from restraint and pampered by indulgence, 
grew up into a spirit of despotism as stern and absolute as ever usurped the 
human heart. Beyond the camp he showed no talent superior to that of other 
eminent men. With regard to the scruples expressed as to the right of ban- 
ishing him to St. Helena, there are great solemn rights of nature which precede 
laws, and on which law is founded; there are awful periods in the history of 
our race, which do not belong to its ordinary state, and which are not to be 
judged by ordinary rules. Such was that when Bonaparte, by the infraction 
of solemn engagements, had thrown himself into France and convulsed all 
Europe ; and they are wrong who confound this with the ordinary events of 
history, and see in Napoleon an ordinary foe to the peace and independence of 
nations. Our sympathies are not for the inconveniences and privations which 
he endured at St. Helena, but for the other and more terrible sufferings of 
which he was the cause. We have no tears to spare for a fallen greatness, 
founded on crime and reared by force and perfidy." 

Louis XVIII. once more returned to his capital on the 8th of July ; 
and on the 20th of November a second treaty of Paris was concluded, 
nearly on the basis of that contracted a year before, but with some 
resumptions of territory by the allies on the boundaries of the Nether- 
lands, Germany, and Savoy. The French frontiers were to be occupied 
during three years by an allied force of 150,000 men, and 700 millions of 
francs were to be paid as an indemnification for the last contest. The 
monuments of art, which successive armies had torn from all parts of 
Europe, w T ere now restored ; and the bridge of Jena in Paris, when 
already undermined by the enraged Prussians, was only saved from 
destruction by the interference of Wellington. Louis XVIII., in reas- 
cending the throne, conferred upon his subjects the most valuable of 
gifts, — a free constitution. As embodied in the Charter, it had much 
in common with its English original — a king with plenary executive 
power, and who was the source of legislation ; responsible ministers ; 
a chamber of peers; and a house of representatives or deputies. 

SPAIN. 

The government of Spain continued till the close of 1807 to be 
administered by the contemptible favourite Godoy, whose folly and 
ambition made him a passive instrument in the hands of Napoleon. 
The resources of the country were placed almost entirely at the disposal 
of the latter, internal improvement was neglected, and the disastrous 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 505 

contest with England which this line of policy induced, annihilated the 
foreign and colonial trade, and exposed the navy to signal reverses, — 
the severe blow at Trafalgar, in 1805, being one from which her marine 
has never recovered. In 1807, a secret treaty for the partition of Por- 
tugal was concluded between France and Spain at Fontainebleau, by 
which, among other stipulations, the provinces of Alentejo and Algarve 
were to be erected into a principality for the favourite, in return for aid 
to the French invasion of that country. But no sooner had the army 
under Junot established itself in Lisbon, than the emperor refused to 
ratify the conditions of the treaty, and immediately began to foment the 
dissensions already existing in the royal family. Ferdinand, prince of 
Asturias, had refused to marry a relative of Godoy's, and addressed a 
letter to his father, King Charles, exposing the abuses of the govern- 
ment, and requesting to be allowed to share in it. The favourite im- 
mediately took advantage of this circumstance to persuade the king that 
his son had formed a conspiracy against his life ; and on the 29th Octo- 
ber, the latter was apprehended on this charge, and kept a close prisoner. 
But the nation at large were not so easily deceived, and the junta con- 
vened for his trial unanimously acquitted him. Meanwhile, the French 
had been allowed to place garrisons in several of the principal fortresses 
of the kingdom, and a strong division entered Madrid under Murat, 
without experiencing any opposition from the king or the minister. But 
the people of that city, driven to desperation, flocked to Aranjuez, where 
the court then resided, and burned the palace of the obnoxious func- 
tionary ; while the king himself, terrified at the position in which he 
had allowed the country to be placed, publicly abdicated in favour of 
Ferdinand, March 20, 1808. 

This latter arrangement, however, by no means suited the views of 
the French emperor. The country being now virtually in his hands, he 
prevailed on the new sovereign to meet him at Bayonne, 15th April; 
where he immediately threw off all disguise, treated the young king as 
a prisoner, and insisted upon a formal cession of the Spanish crown. 
Charles IV., his queen, and Godoy, shortly after arrived ; and Charles, 
who declared that his abdication had been extorted by popular violence, 
was easily induced to make the required surrender (May 5), an act to 
which Ferdinand was after a brief space compelled to accede. In the 
following June, Napoleon nominated his brother Joseph sovereign of 
Spain, at a time when the spirit of the nation, exasperated by the inso- 
lence of the French troops, had become thoroughly roused. An insur- 
rection in the capital, on the 2d of May, was the signal for a general 
rising all over the country ; Ferdinand VII. was proclaimed king ; 
juntas were everywhere established to act against the invaders ; and 
though the usurper Joseph was able, by the aid of French soldiers, to 
enter Madrid on the 20th July, his power never extended beyond the 
outposts of the armies by which he was maintained in his position. 
The people, though nearly undisciplined and rudely armed, performed 
prodigies of valour : a French squadron was compelled to surrender in 
the harbour of Cadiz ; Dupont was forced to capitulate with 14,000 men 
at Baylen ; and the citizens of Saragossa, after sustaining a siege of 
sixty-three days, drove the troops of the new king from the walls, while 
in a second siege, in 1809, the city was only reduced after immense 
bloodshed. 
43 



506 MODERN HISTORY. 

Aided by Britain, the people continued to maintain the contest till 
1813, when the triumph of Wellington at Vittoria finally freed the Pe- 
ninsula from its invaders. In that year Ferdinand VII. was set at 
liberty by Napoleon, and immediately returned to his dominions, where 
he was received with enthusiastic demonstrations of joy. The expecta- 
tions which had previously been formed of his character, however, were 
soon disappointed. A meeting - of the cortes, convoked at Cadiz by the 
central junta at the close of 1810, had formed a liberal constitution for 
the country, abolished the inquisition, and decreed various ecclesiastical 
reforms. The restored monarch refused to take the oath to observe this 
new constitution, dissolved the cortes, which he declared to have been 
illegally assembled, and resumed the powers of absolute government. 
The inquisition was of course re-established, and the liberty of the press 
abolished ; and the nation became once more subjected to the same 
vicious system of administration from which it had already suffered such 
manifold evils. 

PORTUGAL. 

The pacification of Amiens, 1802, allowed Portugal to resume her 
commercial intercourse with England ; but on the breaking out of hos- 
tilities in the following year, Bonaparte required, through his ambassa- 
dor, that the ports should again be closed. After various attempts to 
elude this ruinous demand, the prince-regent was compelled to purchase 
exemption from it by the payment of £ 10,000 sterling monthly to France 
during the continuance of the contest. The neutrality thus disgracefully 
obtained was permitted to exist until 1807 ; when Bonaparte, determined 
that all Europe should acquiesce in his continental system, not only 
insisted on the cessation of the trade with Britain, but on the confisca- 
tion of all English property in the country. To this demand Prince 
John could not be brought to consent ; and Napoleon, declaring the 
dynasty of Braganza at an end, sent Junot with an army to invade the 
country. A British fleet in the Tagus was provided to convey the royal 
family to Brazil ; and as no measures whatever had been taken for the 
national defence, the French general obtained possession of Portugal 
without difficulty, treating it in all respects as a conquered province. 

This state of affairs greatly exasperated the people. In the northern 
provinces, numerous bodies took up arms in defence of national inde- 
pendence; a junta was established at Oporto to conduct the government; 
and on the 21st August 1808, the British auxiliary army under Sir Ar- 
thur Wellesley defeated the troops of Junot, and prepared the way for 
the celebrated convention of Cintra, and the evacuation of the country 
by the invaders. The Portuguese were afterwards greatly distinguished 
throughout the whole of the Peninsular war. 

In 1810, on the death of Maria Isabella, the regent was called to the 
throne as John VI.; but he still continued to reside in Brazil. The 
peace of Paris, in 1814, gave little satisfaction to the Portuguese, who 
were obliged to restore some portion of French Guiana, which they had 
conquered during the war, while seVeral harassing disputes with Spain 
also arose. The king, after an absence of nearly fourteen years, returned 
to his native country in 1821, having previously to his landing confirmed 
a constitution demanded by the people. 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 507 



ITALY. 



Naples. — The kingdom of Naples did not escape the contagion of the 
French revolution. After an ineffectual endeavour to oppose the pro- 
gress of the invading armies, the king was compelled to make peace 
with Napoleon in 1796, and close his ports against the enemies of 
France. A popular insurrection, 1799, ended in the temporary establish- 
ment of the Partkenopean Republic ; but it was soon after replaced by 
the old government. Ferdinand IV. joined in the coalition of 1800 
against France ; but his aid was of little value, and his continental terri- 
tories were speedily occupied by hostile armies. In 1805, when these 
were withdrawn to operate against Austria, a combined Russian and 
British force landed at Naples, but speedily retired ; a circumstance 
which Napoleon made the pretext for sending a new army into the coun- 
try, and conferring the crown on his brother Joseph, March 1800. It 
was in Calabria that the revived system of attacking in column, so ad- 
mirably suited for raw levies, and which had hitherto led to victory, was 
found unavailing against a line of British soldiers, Sir J. Stuart with a 
small force defeating Regnier at Maida, 4th July. On the transference 
of Joseph Bonaparte to Spain, Murat became king of Naples, 1808, all 
whose attempts to reduce Sicily were frustrated by General Stuart and 
Admiral Martin. In 1812, Lord W. Bentinck was instrumental in form- 
ing a new and liberal constitution for that island. Murat, who had ne- 
gotiated both with the allied sovereigns and the French emperor during 
the hundred days, ultimately sided with the latter, and invaded the Papal 
territories, threatening also Northern Italy. The rout at Waterloo de- 
cided his fate : exiled from his throne, he perished in a rash descent on 
Calabria, 1815; Ferdinand IV. having shortly before been reinstated in 
his dominions. 

Upper Italy. — During the contests of the Republic and the Empire, 
this portion of the peninsula became the theatre of great events, which, 
together with the changes undergone by its various states, have already 
been incidentally noticed under France. The congress of Vienna, 
1815, again re-established the preponderance of Austria, and erected 
northern Italy into the following six governments: — 1. The kingdom 
of Sardinia, under Victor Emmanuel, who regained the whole of his 
continental territories except Savoy, together with the duchy of Genoa ; 
2. The Venetian provinces, with Mantua and Milan, were erected into 
the kingdom of Lombardy and Venice, and given to Austria ; 3. The 
house of Austro-Este was replaced in the sovereignty of Modena ; 4. The 
sovereign duchy of Parma became a principality for the ex-empress, 
Maria Louisa; 5. The Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was reinstated as 
grandduke of Tuscany ; and, 6. Lucca became a sovereign state for the 
ex-queen of Etruria. Sardinia was afterwards increased by the addition 
of Savoy, taken from France at the second peace of Paris. 

Switzerland. — This country underwent the same vicissitudes as its 
neighbours, Italy and France. At last, after several petty revolutions, 
general tranquillity was restored, and a new federal compact formed at 
Zurich, 1815. The cantons were increased from nineteen to twenty-two 
by the addition of Geneva, Neuchatel, and Vallais, all recovered from. 
France. 



508 MODERN HISTOliY. 

GERMANY. 

Francis II. succeeded to the dominions of Austria and the imperial 
title at the period of the first war of the revolution, 1792, in which he 
struggled long, and at last successfully, against a most formidable 
enemy. By the battle of Marengo, 1800, and of Austerlitz, 1805, Ger- 
many was twice laid prostrate at the feet of Napoleon. The main 
result of the latter defeat was the establishment of the Confederation of 
the Rhine, under the protectorate of the French ruler; and as this event 
put an end to the old German or Roman empire, after a duration of a 
thousand years, Francis assumed the title of Emperor of Austria and 
King of Hungary and Bohemia. He now availed himself of an interval 
of peace to repair the ravages which war had made in his dominions, 
and felt bound to maintain neutrality in Bonaparte's contest with Prussia, 
while he made every exertion to augment his own financial and military 
resources. The French monarch, on his part, effected various changes 
in the constitution of the confederacy, conferring new titles on several 
of the princes, while his own general, Murat, was created Grandduke of 
Berg; and in order to complete the humiliation of the country, various 
counts and princes were mediatized, that is, deprived of all immediate 
government in their respective states, and their sovereign rights given 
over to contiguous princes. 

The embarrassments of the French in Spain in 1809, again induced 
the Austrian government to make an effort for the independence of Ger- 
many. The war which then took place differed in character from for- 
mer contests, inasmuch as the people generally took part against the 
French, who were annoyed on all sides by vigorous and enterprising 
corps of partisans under various leaders. The Archduke Charles de- 
feated Bonaparte in person at Aspern ; and though fortune again changed 
sides at Wagram, the Austrians retired in good order to Bohemia, where 
an armistice was concluded, followed by the peace of Schonbrunn. 
Shortly after, Maria Louisa, daughter of the emperor, was married to 
the Emperor of France. 

By the treaty of Presburg, 1805, the mountainous district of the Tyrol 
had been ceded to Bavaria; but early in 1809, the inhabitants com- 
menced an insurrection under a native chief named Hofer, aided by the 
Austrians. A murderous conflict was sustained against the Bavarians 
and French with varying success, until the end of November, its ulti 
mate issue depending on the greater contest decided in the two dreadful 
days of Wagram. The cruel execution of Hofer and others of his 
heroic associates, after an amnesty had been proclaimed, added another 
stain to the. reputation of Napoleon. 

After the battle of Waterloo, the restoration of the Austrian monarchy 
was effected at the congress of Vienna by means of the dissolved king- 
dom of Italy, of the reconquered Illyrian provinces, and by the recovery 
of the cessions formerly made to Bavaria. 

The battle of Lnipsic and the subsequent disasters of the French in 
1813 dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine; and the congress of 
Vienna, after indemnifying Prussia and other powers at the expense 
of those princes who had most eagerly supported the invader, by an act 
dated 9th June 1815, formed the German states, including portions of 
the dominions of Austria, Prussia, and- the Netherlands, with the free 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 509 

cities, into a new federal relation called the Germanic. League. This union, 
which was left without any acknowledged head, has in view the preser- 
vation of the security of Germany, and the independence of the respec- 
tive states ; the members of the confederation have equal rights, and 
meet in diet at Frankfort-on-the-Maine. 

HOLLAND. 

From 1795 this country continued in a state of hopeless dependency 
on France, losing her commerce and colonies in constrained hostilities 
with Britain. In 1806, the Batavian Republic was converted jnto the 
kingdom of Holland, and Louis Bonaparte placed upon the throne. 
This prince was of an amiable character, and really exerted twe little 
power reposed in him for the benefit of his subjects. In particular, he 
readily connived at the evasion of the decrees of his imperious brother, 
prohibiting intercourse with England ; but this policy, so consonant with 
the true interests of his people, soon exposed him to such a series of 
reproaches as to render his position insupportable. In 1810, he abdi- 
cated in favour of his eldest son ; but this change not meeting with the 
approbation of the head of the family, Holland was without ceremony 
incorporated with France. At length the people, whose dreams of 
liberty had been fearfully dispelled by the painful realities of despotism, 
in the shape of the conscription and the most grinding exactions, rose 
against the oppressor ; the popular cry, " Up with the house of Orange !" 
once more resounded over the land ; and a provisional government being 
formed at Amsterdam, William Frederick of Nassau arrived from 
England, and was proclaimed sovereign of the United Netherlands in 
December 1813. 

In October 1814, a treaty of peace was concluded with Great Britain, 
by which that country was allowed to retain the Cape of Good Hope, 
Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, but restored Batavia, the Moluccas, 
Surinam, and all other places taken from Holland during the war. The 
congress of Vienna,- by an act dated 31st May 1815, reunited the ten 
provinces of the Low Countries, formerly subject to the Dukes of Bur- 
gundy (now the kingdom of Belgium), under the authority of William 
Frederick, who thereupon assumed the title of King of the United 
Netherlands. The government was declared a limited hereditary 
monarchy, with a representative legislature. 

DENMARK. 

During the French wars, Denmark twice suffered from the arms of 
Britain: her fleet engaged in the defence of Copenhagen was sunk, 
burnt, or captured by Nelson, 1801 ; and after the bombardment of the 
capital by an armament under Admiral Gambier and Lord Cathcart, all 
her ships of war were surrendered, 1807. On the fall of Napoleon, she 
was compelled to cede Norway to Sweden, in exchange for Swedish 
Pornerania and the Isle of Rugen; but by the treaty of Vienna, June 
1815, these districts were transferred to Prussia, the Danish king 
receiving the duchy of Lauenburg as a trifling compensation. 

43* 



510 MODEKN HISTORY. 



SWEDEN. 



Gustavus IV. attained his majority in 1796 ; but his conduct showing 
that he laboured under mental derangement, he was deposed in 1809, 
and his uncle, Charles XIII., proclaimed king. The aristocracy took 
this opportunity to effect several modifications in the constitution, tend- 
ing to diminish the power of the crown; the general outline remaining 
as settled in 1772. Charles now concluded the war which had broken 
out with Russia and Denmark in the preceding year, ceding to the former 
power the whole of Finland, with East Bothnia and Aaland ; an arrange- 
ment which stripped the country of one-fourth of its territory and one- 
third of its inhabitants. After this heavy blow, he joined the continental 
system of Napoleon, 1810, receiving back, as a reward for his adherence, 
the district of Pornerania, which had been wrested by the French from 
his predecessor. In the same year, on the sudden death of Prince 
Christian, who had been nominated to succeed Charles, the diet 
elected Bernadotte, prince of Ponte-Corvo, one of the ablest of Bona- 
parte's marshals, as successor to the throne, under the title of Charles 
John. 

The crown-prince saw too clearly the real interests of his country to 
allow it to remain long in the state of subserviency to France to which 
it had been brought; and he was easily induced to abandon the conti- 
nental system on the first favourable opportunity. In 1812, the Swedish 
ports were again thrown open to all nations; and early in 1813, he 
formed an alliance with England, and soon after openly entered the field 
against his former commander. In return for the important aid thus 
afforded to the allies, he was gratified by obtaining the valuable territory 
of Norway at the peace of Kiel with Denmark in 1814, the natives being 
permitted to retain their own constitution. The people, who were much 
attached to their Danish rulers, made some opposition to this arrange- 
ment, and set up Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark as their king; 
but they were speedily compelled to yield. Bernadotte attained the 
crown of the united kingdoms, as Charles XIV., in 1818. 

PRUSSIA. 

Frederick III. succeeded his father in 1797, prudently announcing 
his design to maintain the peace with France. He applied his attention 
to the re-establishment of the finances, by introducing a wise economy 
into all parts of the administration, hoping thereby in a few years to pay 
the debts left by his father, and even part of those of Poland, with which 
he had been charged by the last partition. After a long neutrality, the 
country was rashly hurried into a war with Napoleon, when the double 
defeat at Jena and Auerstadt, 1806, placed it at the mercy of an unspar 
ing conqueror. By the peace of Tilsit, 1807, Prussia lost half her terri 
tories : Westphalia was given to Jerome Bonaparte; Warsaw, erected 
into a grand-duchy, was placed under the protection of the king of 
Saxony; Dantzic was declared a free town; and the other remaining 
ports were closed against the commerce of England. This last stipula- 
tion was but the prelude to the most oppressive pecuniary exactions, md 
every species of insult and degradation. In no one of the subjugated 
European states was the insolence of the French domination carried 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 511 

to a greater height, and in none did it produce so bitter a feeling of exas- 
peration. Accordingly, in the beginning of 1813, the whole population 
rose en masse at the call of their sovereign, resolving, in the emphatic 
terms used at the time, that this new contest should end either " in an 
honourable peace or a glorious destruction." The newly armed levies, 
or landsturm, as they were called, filled with patriotic enthusiasm, de- 
feated at the point of the bayonet 30,000 French under Eugene Beau- 
harnois, at Mockern. The battles of Lutzen and Bautzen led to an 
armistice on the 4th of June, during which a foul attempt was made by 
Arrighi, a countryman of Napoleon's, to cut off Lutzow's free corps near 
Leipsic, where Korner, the patriotic poet, was severely wounded. On 
the resumption of hostilities, August 17, the Prussian arms attained a 
series of brilliant successes. The renowned Blucher, whom his soldiers 
afterwards styled Marshal Forwards, defeated Macdonald on the Katz- 
bach, and drove him from Silesia; Vandamme was taken prisoner, and 
his army annihilated near Culm; and Ney, to whom the crown of Prus- 
sia had been promised, was totally defeated at Dennevitz, September 6, 
and pursued to the Elbe. These triumphs, together with the storming 
of General Bertrand's fortified camp by Blucher, October 3, enabled the 
allies to unite before Leipsic, and to contend for three days against the 
emperor in person (16th, 18th, and 19th October), who never recovered 
from the terrible blow here inflicted on him. France was now in her 
turn condemned to be trodden down by invading armies, and the war 
was prosecuted with varying but hardly doubtful success. Napoleon's 
forces were indeed increased, and from acting on an internal line, were 
easily concentrated in overwhelming numbers on any point. The valour 
of Blucher, however, at the battle of Laon, 9th March 1814, decided the 
campaign, and Paris was soon after entered by the allies. Much of this 
success must be attributed to the patriotic exertions of Baron Stein, 
prime-minister in 1808, and to a secret patriotic association formed at 
that time, called the Tugendbund (or bond of virtue), which led to the 
formation of voluntary corps, as well as to the promise of political insti- 
tutions in accordance with the spirit of the age. 

By the congress of Vienna, 1814, Prussia recovered what it had 
resigned at Tilsit, and in exchange for sacrifices in Poland, received 
half of Saxony, and a considerable accession of provinces on the left 
bank of the Rhine. 

RUSSIA. 

The odious tyranny of the Emperor Paul, which seemed to verge on 
insanity, became at length insupportable to his subjects ; and in March 
1801, he met the fate of many other despotic princes, being murdered in 
his palace by a band of conspirators. Alexander I., his son and suc- 
cessor, began his reign by various judicious and patriotic measures ; 
while, by agreeing to an amicable convention, he put a stop to the im- 
pending hostilities with England, consequent on his predecessor's scheme 
of armed neutrality. The peace of Amiens, 1802, was the almost imme- 
diate consequence; but the young monarch refused to acknowledge the 
title of the French emperor, and, joining the Austrian coalition against 
him, was present in person at the great defeat, of Austerlitz. In 1806, 
he endeavoured to continue the war in alliance with Prussia; but the 
rapid overthrow of that power, and the severe Josses of his own troops 



512 MODERN HISTORY. 

at Eylau and Friedland, led to an armistice in June 1807, during which 
the two emperors met personally on a raft placed in the middle of the 
Niemen. The result of this interview was an apparently warm friend- 
ship between Alexander and Napoleon, and the celebrated treaty of 
Tilsit, July 7, by which the former joined the continental system, and 
soon after declared war against England and Sweden, the latter of which 
countries was forced to cede, in 1809, all Finland, East Bothnia, and 
Aaland. 

Three years previously to this period, an alliance between Turkey 
and France had been used as a pretext for declaring war with the former 
state ; but the hostilities were languidly conducted till 1809, when they 
were resumed with fresh vigour. The Russians easily passed the forti- 
fied line of the Danube ; but the Turks, being strongly encamped at 
Shumla in Bulgaria, were assailed without success, and the grand-vizier 
routed one-half of the invaders, 1810. These last were then driven bad 
across the Danube, when the vizier, having imprudently crossed in 
pursuit, was surprised and defeated by Kutusoff, he himself escaping 
with difficulty. Peace was soon after concluded at Bucharest, through 
the mediation of England, when Turkey relinquished all claims on the 
left bank of the Pruth, 1812. 

Meanwhile, the effects of the continental system had become con- 
spicuous in the ruin of the national commerce, and excited a universal 
feeling of discontent throughout Russia. At the end of 1811, a dispute 
arose with the court of Paris in consequence of the seizure of the terri- 
tories of the Duke of Oldenburg by Napoleon ; and it speedily became 
evident that a rupture was impending. Accordingly, on the 19th March 
1812, having previously formed an alliance with Sweden, Alexander 
declared war against the French emperor, who on his part announced 
his intention to drive back the Russian monarchy to Asia. The tremen- 
dous contest that followed, so important for the independence of Europe, 
has already been detailed under France. The steady valour and heroic 
sacrifices of the Russian people saved their country and preserved the 
liberties of mankind; and an unprincipled and insatiable ambition 
received its most awful lesson amid the horrors which attended the 
retreat from Moscow. After this period they experienced an almost un- 
interrupted triumph, till, on the 31st March 1814, their victorious troops, 
in conjunction with those of the other allies, took possession of the 
French capital. Their sovereign obtained a considerable share of the 
fruits of these signal successes. By the congress of Vienna, in 1815, 
the city of Warsaw, with a large adjacent territory, was erected into the 
kingdom of Poland, and annexed to his empire ; several provinces 
bordering on Persia had previously (1813) been ceded to him by the 
peace of Goolistan ; whilst the important acquisition of Finland, obtained 
from Sweden in 1809, proved a source of great benefit and security to 
his northern dominions. The remainder of his reign was passed in 
various useful measures of internal improvement. 

TURKEY. 

The unprovoked invasion of Egypt by the French, and then subse- 
quent successes, compelled Sultan Selim to form a defensive alliance 
with Russia and England in 1798, and the great exertions of the latter 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 513 

power at length restored that important province to the dominions of the 
Porte. Meanwhile, the introduction of modern tactics into the army, 
and the favour shown to the new corps disciplined after this manner, 
which were known by the designation of the Nizam Djedit, had excited 
the deadly hostility of the janissaries, who foresaw in the advancement 
of this body a presage of their own downfal. In the midst of these dis- 
contents, the intrigues of France so far prevailed in the Ottoman councils 
as to precipitate a war with their late allies, England and Russia, 1806. 
The latter power immediately occupied the provinces of Moldavia and 
Wallachia ; while an English fleet, under Admiral Duckworth, passed 
the Dardanelles and approached the capital, but was speedily compelled 
to retreat. A strong force being now sent under the vizier to the Rus- 
sian frontiers, the janissaries seized the opportunity to give vent to their 
long-cherished resentment, and with loud cries demanded the deposition 
of the sultan. Mustapha IV., his nephew, was accordingly raised to 
the throne, the whole authority, at the same time, passing into the hands 
of the leaders of the insurrection, who conducted themselves with the 
utmost insolence. This state of things, however, was speedily put an 
end to by Bairactar, pasha of Rustchuk, who hastened to the capital at 
the head of 40,000 Albanians ; and though too late to prevent the assas- 
sination of his former master Selim, whom he desired to reinstate, he 
pulled the usurper from the throne, to which he immediately elevated 
Mahmoud II. By way of avenging the death of the late sultan, the 
usual barbarous executions, or rather massacres, now took place ; but 
the janissaries still retained so much influence as to procure, some time 
after, the death of Bairactar himself. In 1812, the war with Russia was 
brought to a close by the peace of Bucharest; and the sultan, now at 
liberty to devote himself to the internal affairs of his empire, began to 
display those qualities of energy, courage, and political talent, which 
marked him as one of the ablest potentates of his time. He resolutely 
prepared to reduce his rebellious viceroys in the provinces, abolished 
the hereditary pashaliks, and at length entirely suppressed the insolent 
janissaries, who had so long held the capital in thraldom. The reduc- 
tion of the Wahabees in Arabia was intrusted to Mehemet Ali, viceroy 
of Egypt, who had some time before made himself absolute master of 
that important province by a barbarous massacre of the Mamelukes; 
and, after two years of dangerous warfare, his son Ibrahim entirely sub- 
dued the enthusiastic sectarians, and took their chief prisoner. In 1820, 
a struggle arose in the Morea, which, after ten years of warfare, terminated 
in the independence of Greece, — in the first instance as a republic under 
the presidency of Count Capodistria, and eventually, in 1833, as a 
limited monarchy under Prince Otho of Bavaria. 

BRITISH INDIA. 

The progress of the British power in Hindostan during the preceding 
century, so marvellous in every point of view, is particularly striking 
from the fact that it took place against the direct wishes of the govern- 
ment at home ; and that almost every successive war and negotiation 
terminated, as it seemed inevitably, in that very extension of territory 
which had been so anxiously deprecated. Hardly, therefore, had the 
conquest of Mysore freed the Company from a powerful enemy, and 



514 MODERN HISTORY. 

promised an opportunity of peacefully pursuing those commercial objects 
which were always deemed paramount in importance, ere another career 
of conquest was opened up. This event arose from the jealousy of their 
late allies, the Mahrattas, now the most formidable native power in 
Hindostan, both on account of the personal qualities of the chiefs who 
ruled the confederacy, and from having French officers employed in their 
armies. Scindia, one of these princes, had pushed his conquests so 
successfully in the north, as to obtain possession of the provinces of 
Delhi and Agra; and eventually, by the reduction of the city of the 
former name in 1788, the person of the Mogul himself fell into his 
hands, the conquered territories being placed under the government of 
General Perron, a French officer in his service. The powerful chief, 
having taken offence at a treaty formed by the British with the Peishwa 
of Poonah, declared war against them in 1803, in which he was joined 
by the Rajah of Berar. General Lake immediately took the field in the 
north, where he was opposed by Perron; but having soon after captured 
the important fort of Allighur, he succeeded in inducing that officer to 
quit the service of Scindia, rapidly overran the northern provinces, and 
took possession of Delhi and of the person of the Mogul. In the south, 
where the operations were conducted by Major-general Wellesley (after- 
wards Duke of Wellington), the success was if possible still more 
decisive. At the great battle of Assaye, fought on the 23d September, 
with a force of 5000 men, he totally defeated 60,000 under Scindia and 
the rajah in person, gaining one of the most complete victories recorded 
even in the annals of Indian warfare. A peace was the immediate con- 
sequence, by which the victors obtained extensive territories in central 
Hindostan, including Delhi and Agra, with the custody of the Mogul 
emperor, who henceforth subsisted on a British pension till his death in 
1807. 

This treaty was scarcely concluded, ere a new contest broke out with 
Holkar, another powerful Mahratta sovereign, 1804. He made a rapid 
incursion into the Doab, and attempted to seize Delhi by stratagem, but 
was gallantly repulsed; his infantry were defeated by Major-general 
Fraser at Dieg, while Lord Lake, having pursued the cavalry to Fur- 
ruckabad, took them by surprise, and routed them with great slaughter. 
His territories were now speedily occupied by the British troops; but in 
1805, in consequence of a change of policy on the part of the victors 
and the removal of Lord Wellesley from the post of governor-general 
nearly the whole were restored to him. 

The pacific policy of Sir George Barlow and Lord Minto, the lattei 
of whom devoted himself chiefly to the conquest of the French posses- 
sions in the eastern seas, began to produce its invariable effects upon the 
native chiefs, who increased in insolence in exact proportion to the 
bupineness of the British. Accordingly, the Marquis of Hastings, who 
arrived as governor-general in 1813, felt the necessity for a display of 
vigour in order to repress their encroachments. His first operations 
were directed against the Gorkhas, a warlike people who had established 
themselves in the alpine regions of the Himmalehs, whence they were 
continually making encroachments on the Company's frontier; and in 
two active campaigns their territory was entirely subdued, and a large 
mountain-tract permanently retained, 1816. The depredations of the 
Pindarees, an association of freebooters, who were secretly aided by the 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 515 

Mahratta chiefs, were next punished by several successive defeats, and 
the utter dispersion of their hordes. The Peishwa of Poonah, Holkar, 
and the Rajah of Nagpore, having taken part in this contest, were all 
finally subdued, and their territories occupied ; so that in 1818, the power 
of the British was extended over the entire peninsula, leaving only 
some small states, too weak even if hostile to make any formidable 
resistance. 

Hindostan, or India within the Ganges, contains 1,280,000 square miles, with 
a population of 134 millions ; the immediate territories of the Company 
amounting to 512,900 square miles, with about eighty-five millions of inhabi- 
tants. This numerous people, besides various national distinctions, is divided 
into two great religious classes, Mohammedans and Hindoos, in the proportion 
of one to seven. The supreme deity of the Hindoos is the ineffable Brahm, 
who is worshipped in the triple form of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva ; the two 
last being believed to have undergone a number of avatars or incarnations, and 
each successive avatar furnishing a new object of religious homage. Boodh or 
Buddha is the ninth avatar, but he is worshipped in a different manner from 
Brahma. Besides these deities, every object in nature has its presiding divinity, 
and nothing is believed to take place without the intervention of some superior 
power. The direct objects of Buddhist worship are a sort of heroes or demi- 
gods — men of saintly life, who have been translated to a state of supreme bliss. 

The people are divided into four castes or tribes : the Brahmins, teachers and 
ministers of religion ; Khetries, magistrates or warriors ; Bice, merchants and 
husbandmen ; and Soodras, artisans and servants of every class. There is also 
a race of Pariahs, outcasts from their original rank, and who are in the lowest 
state of degradation. 

The government of British Hindostan is very peculiar, being under the direc- 
tion of the East India Company and the ministers in England. Twenty-four 
directors manage all the Indian correspondence and confer all the patronage ; 
the former being, however, subject to the Board of Control, nominated by the 
sovereign, and the latter requiring the royal approbation of the selected govern- 
ors and commanders-in-chief. Each of the three presidencies has a governor 
and council, the governor-general residing in Calcutta. All the officers, civil 
and military, except in the lower ranks, are Europeans, who go out in early 
youth, and are frequently appointed to the most important charges, in propor- 
tion to their merit, while others of the same age at home have scarcely left the 
school or university. The united army amounts to upwards of 200,000 men, 
partly Europeans, and partly natives called sepoys, under British officers. The 
laws are Mohammedan, varying in each locality ; but the English system of 
jurisprudence is established in certain districts. The revenues are estimated 
at fourteen millions sterling. 

UNITED STATES. 

During the scenes of violence and bloodshed which desolated Europe 
at the beginning of this century, the United States, remote from the 
scenes of warfare, and guided by the cautious policy of their rulers, 
preserved a strict neutrality, and continued to advance steadily in the 
career of commercial and agricultural prosperity. With the exception 
of several unimportant civic disputes and contests between the two 
great national parties known as republicans and federalists, which were 
carried on, however, with considerable warmth, no event occurred to 
disturb the internal tranquillity of the republic. In 1801, Mr. Adams 
was succeeded in the office of president by Mr. Thomas Jefferson, cele- 
brated as the author of the Declaration of Independence ; and in 1803, 
this statesman concluded a treaty with France, by which the immense 
territory of Louisiana was ceded to the republic for a payment of fifteen 



516 MODERN HISTORY. 

millions of dollars. The number of states was also increased from se- 
venteen to twenty-four, by the elevation of various western territories to 
that rank ; and by a census taken about this time, it was found that the 
population had increased to five and a half millions, or nearly double 
what it was at the period of the revolt from England, while the exports, 
imports, and revenue presented a still more gratifying result. In 1803, 
a naval expedition was fitted out against the piratical state of Tripoli, 
\vhich had greatly annoyed the American commerce in the Mediterra- 
nean ; and after several vigorous operations, the bashaw was compelled 
to sign a favourable peace. 

Unfortunately for both nations, causes of difference with Great Britain 
now began to arise. That country claimed a right of searching the 
vessels of neutral powers, with the view of ascertaining whether they 
were not employed in carrying military stores for the assistance of her 
enemies; and she also subjected American ships to a rigorous scrutiny, 
in order to recover British seamen liable to impressment. These claims, 
and the abuses to which they almost inevitably gave rise, were very 
unwillingly acquiesced in by the republicans ; and their feelings of ex- 
asperation were excited to the highest pitch, when the decrees of Napo- 
leon and the British orders in council virtually put an end to their 
commerce both with England and the continent of Europe. At length, 
in 1809, Mr. Madison being president, an act was passed by the federal 
government, prohibiting all intercourse as well with France as with 
Britain for one year, or until either country should recall her edicts. 
This measure produced the desired effect with France before the close 
of 1810, but England still adhered to her orders in council ; and finally, 
after various unsatisfactory negotiations, and some hostile encounters 
between ships of the two countries, war was declared against Great 
Britain in June 1812. Brigadier Hull was immediately despatched with 
an army to invade Canada ; but he was repulsed, pursued, and compelled 
to surrender his whole force to Major-general Brock at Fort Detroit. A 
second expedition for the same purpose met with no better fortune ; but 
at sea the Americans were generally triumphant. In consequence of the 
superiority of their frigates in number of men and weight of metal, they 
succeeded, when singly opposed to British vessels of the same class, in 
effecting several captures ; while their opponents could only boast one 
instance of naval victory, which was gained after a sanguinary encounter 
between the ships Shannon and Chesapeake. The following year was 
chiefly spent in conflicts on the Lakes and their vicinity, the preponder- 
ance of success being there also in favour of the republicans ; but in 
1814, a detachment of British troops was sent to America under Major- 
general Ross, who, co-operating w T ith Admiral Cockburn, took the city 
of Washington and destroyed its public buildings. At the close of the 
season, however, another army of nearly 14,000 men, under Sir Edward 
Packenham, which made an attack on the city of New Orleans, was re- 
pulsed with great loss by an inferior force under General Jackson. A 
few days previous to this event, a treaty had been concluded at Ghent 
between the two powers, December 21, which, though it left the matters 
in dispute undecided, was highly desirable for both parties. 

In 1817, Mr. Madison was succeeded as president by Mr. James 
Monroe, who shortly after obtained the cession of East and West Florida 
from the Spanish government; which important districts were formally 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 517 

taken possession of in 1821. The territories of the states now extended 
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific; their progress in wealth and population continued to be very 
great, while their commerce spread over every sea. 

BRAZIL. 

When the French invaded Portugal in 1807, the royal family of Bra- 
ganza removed, under British protection, to their transatlantic capital, 
Rio Janeiro, where they remained until 1821, at which period John the 
Sixth was recalled to Europe by the cortes. During his residence in 
Brazil, that prince raised the colony to the rank of a kingdom ; while 
the ports were thrown open to all nations, and other efforts made to im- 
prove the condition of the country. It soon became evident that a terri- 
tory larger in extent than Russia in Europe, and far more richly endowed 
by nature, could not long remain in dependence on so feeble a power as 
Portugal, after the departure of the sovereign. John had left behind 
him his eldest son, Don Pedro, to administer affairs in the quality of 
regent, having shortly before his retirement agreed to a constitution 
similar to that established in the mother country. But the cortes having 
signified an intention to recur to the old system of monopolizing the 
Brazilian trade, the colonists took the alarm ; and on the 12th October 
1822, they adopted the decisive step of a declaration of independence, 
while the prince-regent, who had the sagacity to yield to the course of 
events, was elevated to the dignity of emperor. He succeeded without 
difficulty in compelling the Portuguese troops to embark for Europe; 
and this important revolution was accomplished with no other blood- 
shed than a slight skirmish at the town of Bahia. By a constitution 
finally agreed to in 1824, Brazil was declared an hereditary monarchy, 
with two legislative bodies, a senate and chamber of deputies, the one 
appointed by the emperor, the other chosen by the people. The Roman 
Catholic faith was established as the religion of the state ; but all other 
Christian sects are tolerated. 

SPANISH COLONIES. 

From the period of their first settlement till the end of the eighteenth 
century, the colonists of Spain remained in a state of quiet submission 
to the government of Madrid, which was carried to a pitch of despotism 
almost beyond belief. From the viceroys to the lowest clerks, every 
official situation was filled with persons sent from Europe, by whom 
justice was unblushingly bought and sold, while, in other respects, the 
utmost venalty everywhere prevailed. Commerce of all kinds was 
made a complete monopoly for the benefit of the home country, which 
compelled the colonists to take its commodities in exchange for bullion ; 
and, in order to put an effectual stop to all improvement, intercourse of 
every kind with other nations was strictly prohibited. After the sup- 
pression of the Jesuits, the ranks of the priesthood were recruited by 
monks of the lowest description from the Spanish monasteries, who, by 
maintaining superstition and ignorance, formed the strongest props of the 
degrading policy adopted by the ruling faction. As a matter of course, 
printing and liberty of discussion were altogether unknown. 
44 



518 MODERN HISTORY. 

But notwithstanding all this machinery of tyranny, the new principles 
evolved by the American and French revolutions began to gain ground 
even in those darkened regions; and, so early as 1806, Miranda, a 
Mexican officer who had served under Dumouriez, attempted with a 
small force to create an insurrection in Caraccas. This effort, which 
seems to have been premature and ill-considered, failed ; but the dispo- 
sition to shake off the tyranny of Spain continued to increase in strength, 
till at length, in 1810, the liberals deposed the captain-general and 
assembled a congress to organize an independent government for the 
state of Venezuela. This conduct was soon after imitated at Bogota, 
the capital of New Grenada. In the contests which now took place 
with the European troops, the most frightful atrocities were committed 
on both sides ; but the eminent abilities of Simon Bolivar, who com- 
manded the liberating armies, eventually achieved the task of inde- 
pendence. Buenos Ayres threw off the Spanish yoke in 1816; and in 
1818 its example was followed by the patriots of Chili. Mexico, Peru, 
and Guatemala were not declared independent till 1821. At length, in 
December 18*24, the united forces of the patriots, under Generals Sucre 
and Miller, totally routed the Spaniards in the great battle of Ayacucho, 
and placed the freedom of the colonies beyond further opposition from 
that quarter. 

It is much to be regretted that tranquillity is even yet far from being 
established in these new republics. Throughout the contest, the diffi- 
culties of the leading chiefs were greatly increased by disunion and 
want of confidence, the great Bolivar himself being frequently exposed 
to the most injurious suspicions ; and since that time, they have shown 
themselves signally deficient in that political talent and moral worth 
which are so necessary to secure the prosperity of states under every 
form of government. 

LITERATURE, ARTS, AND SCIENCES. 

Britain. — The most striking feature in the literature of England during the 
early years of the nineteenth century, is the splendid array of poetical genius 
which it displays. The severe but truthful delineations of Crabbe, 1832 ; the 
glowing fancy of Shelley, 1822 ; the gorgeous chivalric legends of Scott, 1832 ; 
the lofty but misanthropic muse of Byron, 1824 ; together with the contribu- 
tions of other great writers, some of whom are still living, as Moore, Camp- 
bell, Southey, and Wordsworth, present a combination unparalleled in any 
former age. An entirely new character was imparted to the romance and the 
novel by the genius of Scott, who produced a succession of works in this 
department, wonderful alike for their masterly sketches of character and for 
the extraordinary facility with which they were composed. Senatorial oratory 
may also be mentioned here as a new department of English literature ; and in 
the preserved speeches of Burke, Fox, Pitt, Sheridan, Erskine, Grattan, and 
others, may be seen the revival in modern times of the glories of classic elo- 
quence. Stewart, 1828, and Brown, 1820, though perhaps contributing little 
to the researches of former writers, threw over the department of metaphysics 
the refinements of literary taste and elegant composition ; Ricardo, 1823, and 
Malthus, 1834, have contributed valuable assistance to the science of political 
economy; Playfair, 1819, and Leslie, 1832, were distinguished in the study of 
mathematics and natural philosophy. To no other philosopher does the science 
of chemistry owe such deep and manifold obligations as to Sir Humphry Davy 
1829 : Wollaston, 1828, was also celebrated in the same pursuit. Natural his- 
tory, which was extensively prosecuted at this period, presents the distinguish.ee 
name of Sir Joseph Banks, 1820 ; medicine was cultivated by Gregory, 1821 



NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. 519 

and by many eminent coadjutors, among whom the highest place must be 
assigned to Jenner, 1823, whose great discovery of vaccination has conferred 
the highest practical benefits upon mankind. The interesting astronomical dis- 
coveries of Herschel, 1822, belong also to this period. The most liberal pa- 
tronage was given by all classes to the cultivators of the fine arts, who increased 
beyond enumeration ; among the most eminent may be mentioned the well- 
known names of Lawrence, 1830, Wilkie, 1841, and the eminent sculptor, 
Chantrey, 1841. 

France. — The stormy period of the Revolution undoubtedly tended even- 
tually to give a powerful impulse to the literature of France, which, since the 
Restoration, has produced a vast number of eminent authors; but, during the 
period here more particularly embraced, its effect was unfavourable, littie else 
besides journals and political pamphlets being in demand. Among the literary 
characters who lived within the limits of this era, may be mentioned Deirile, 

1813, whose poetry, however, belongs to the old monarchy; and St. Pierre, 

1814, author of the well-known Studies of Nature, and several elegant and 
beautiful tales. In the latter department may also be mentioned the names of 
Madame Cottin, 1807, and Madame de Genlis, 1830. Another female writer 
who has exercised a powerful influence on the modern literature of France, is 
Madame de Stael, 1817, daughter of the finance minister Necker, distinguished 
both in history and fiction. The travellers Volney, 1820, and Denon, 1825, 
deserve to be recorded, the latter especially in connexion with the splendid 
work on the antiquities of Egypt, compiled after the return of the French expe- 
dition to that country. In mathematics appears the illustrious La Place, 1827 ; 
Cuvier, 1832, possesses a European reputation for his researches in natural 
history, particularly for many splendid discoveries among the remains of those 
species of animals now extinct ; and Jussieu, 1836, by his natural system of 
botany, ranks among the most distinguished prosecutors of that science. 

Germany. — The extraordinary development of intellectual power manifested 
in Germany towards the close of the eighteenth century, continued to increase 
in the nineteenth ; and at this moment the literature of that country presents a 
spectacle of mental energy, activity, and genius, unequalled in any other 
quarter of the world. In metaphysical research, a study in which the Ger- 
mans are pre-eminently distinguished, the short period here embraced presents 
the illustrious names of Fichte, 1819, Schelling, and Hegel, 1831, who have 
conferred the highest reputation on their country. The researches of Dr. Gall, 
1828, have excited great interest throughout Europe, as laying the foundations 
of what is believed to be a new mental science — phrenology. In dramatic 
literature the number of aspirants almost exceeds belief; and translations 
besides exist of every eminent foreign author, Shakspeare and Calderon being 
perhaps more extensively read and admired in Germany than even in their own 
countries. In other departments of poetry and imaginative writing are found 
the names of Korner, 1813; Chamisso, Heine, Schenkendorf, 1817, Tieck, 
and Uland. Richter, 1825, is celebrated as a humorous and original novelist; 
F. Schlegel, 1829, was successful alike in the novel, poetry, and history. In 
this last branch the scholars of Germany have produced many great standard 
works : Herder, 1803, Von Muller, 1809, were distinguished towards the end 
of the eighteenth century ; Heeren and Eichhorn have written eminent works 
both on ancient and literary history ; Niebuhr, 1831, is admired for his History 
of Rome. Heyne, 1812, and Wolff, may be mentioned among a host of cele- 
brated critics. The distinguished traveller, Humboldt, whose numerous works 
have been translated into various European languages, is also a native of Ger- 
many. In theology this country has produced an extraordinary number of able 
writers, who have brought to their peculiar subject an immense amount of 
learning and critical acumen. Olbers, the well-known discoverer of the 
asteroids, and Blumenbach, 1840, are conspicuous among a vast array of emi- 
nent scientific characters. 

The other European communities, though possessed of many respectable 
writers, offer nothing during this period to be put in competition with the litera- 
ture of the three great dominant languages just alluded to. The United States 



520 MODERN HISTORY. 

are yet too young as a nation to possess a distinct position in this respect, apart 
from that of England, though the histories of Bancroft and Prescott, with the 
lighter works of Irving and Cooper, are creditable to transatlantic talent. 
Italy can boast of Denina, author of a history of Italian Revolutions; Foscolo, 
eminent in poetry and the drama ; and the great sculptor, Canova, 1822. 
Danish literature presents the name of Rask, a man of astonishing philological 
acquirements ; and Malte-Brun, 1826, well known throughout Europe for his 
work on geography : the celebrated sculptor, Thorvaldsen, also belongs to this 
country, the capital of which he has decorated with many fine specimens of 
his genius. 



CONCLUSION. 



SUMMARY OF CONTEMPORARY HISTORY" SINCE THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA. 

The important arrangements effected by the representatives of the 
European powers at the Congress of Vienna, as well as the sufferings 
and exhaustion consequent on twenty-five years of bloodshed, laid the 
foundations of a lasting peace ; and the era thus signalized affords a 
fixed and definite point, at which the record of modern history may be 
appropriately closed. Still, it may not be improper, by way of conclu- 
sion, to take a rapid glance at subsequent events, many of which spring 
from that awakening of the democratic principle, of which the revolt of 
the British North American colonies may be regarded as the first strik- 
ing indication, but which neither the fearful scenes of the French Revo- 
lution, nor the sanguinary contests of the Republic and the Empire, 
have been able to allay. This spirit, indeed, in whatever light it may 
be regarded, is now the most active political element in civilized society, 
and its progressive development in different states, constitutes the main 
fact, as well as the chief interest of contemporary history. At no former 
period of the world have the principles of civil and religious liberty been 
more widely diffused, or their blessings more generally enjoyed; and 
there seems good reason to hope, that, guided by the lessons of experi- 
ence, a career of improvement, peaceful and gradual, will effectually 
check those fiery ebullitions which have hitherto agitated and terrified 
mankind. 

The reign of Louis XVIII. , after his restoration to the throne of 
France, in 1815, presents no domestic event of importance, though tran- 
quillity continued from time to time to be disturbed by growing disputes 
between the royalist and liberal parties, to the former of whom the court 
showed an obvious partiality.* In 1824, Louis was succeeded by his 
brother, the Count d'Artois, as Charles X. ; but this monarch, who was 
decidedly inferior in ability to his predecessor, from the first identified 
himself with the legitimists, and in 1829 placed the administration of 
affairs in the hands of Prince Polignac, an extremely unpopular per- 
sonage. On the 26th July 1830, this minister, with singular infatuation, 
induced his majesty to issue six ordinances, by which the liberty of the 
press was abolished, and the constitution of the chamber of deputies 

* In 1823, Louis, in concert with the allied sovereigns assembled at Verona, sent an 
army into Spain, under his nephew the Duke of Angouleme, to aid Ferdinand in quell- 
ing the political discontents of that country. 



CONCLUSION. 521 

entirely remodelled. These measures being a palpable subversion of 
the character which the king had sworn to maintain, were not long in 
producing results that might easily have been foreseen. The people of 
Paris immediately rose in insurrection ; and after a three days' contest 
in the streets, during which they were joined by several regiments of 
the line, the royal forces were compelled to evacuate the city. A pro- 
visional government having been formed, and the national guard placed 
under the command of the veteran La Fayette, the deputies invited the 
Duke of Orleans to place himself at the head of the government, by the 
title of Lieutenant-general of the kingdom. On the 2d of August, 
Charles was compelled to sign an act of abdication, and shortly after 
departed for England ; while, on the 9th, the chambers, after a thorough 
revision of the charter, bestowed the vacant throne on the duke, by the 
title of Louis Philippe, King of the French, declaring the succession 
hereditary in the direct male line. Ever since, the new sovereign has 
conducted the affairs of government with great firmness and ability.* 

The second revolution, thus suddenly effected in France, produced a 
powerful sensation throughout Europe. The Belgians, who had never 
assimilated with the Dutch, judged the period favourable for dissolving 
the union between the two countries. In the month of August, the 
populace of Brussels rose against the royal troops, who were compelled 
to retire to Antwerp, where they were subsequently besieged by a French 
army, and forced to capitulate. Meantime, Bel-gium was declared an 
independent kingdom, and so recognised by all the great European 
powers. On the 21st July 1831, the crown was conferred on Prince 
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. 

The patriotic party in Poland, also, were encouraged to attempt the 
reassertion of their national independence. On the 29th November 1830, 
an insurrection took place at Warsaw, headed by the pupils of the mili- 
tary school. Being joined by the army, their efforts were at first suc- 
cessful : a provisional government was formed ; the army placed under 
the command of Chlopiki, a veteran general ; and the Grand Duke 
Constantine, brother to the Russian emperor, compelled to resign his 
authority. But immense bodies of Russian troops were speedily poured 
into the country; and though the Poles, who were subsequently headed 
by Prince Adam Czartoriski, behaved with great gallantry, they were 
at length overwhelmed by superior numbers, their capital being entered 
by the enemy, 8th September. The most severe measures were now 
taken by the victors for extinguishing the national spirit, while numbers 
of the insurgents were sent to Siberia, or retired into voluntary exile. 

In Britain, during the first years of George IV., few events of national 
importance occurred. The year 1824 was signalized as a period of 
extraordinary speculation among the mercantile community, and was 
followed in 1825-1826 by an equally great amount of bankruptcy and 
depression. At the same time, the public mind was violently agitated 
by the question of Catholic emancipation ; and at length, in 1829, the 
Duke of Wellington being at the head of the administration, a bill was 
carried through both Houses under his auspices, by which Romanists 

* In May 1830, the Polienac ministry sent a formidable armament against Algiers, 
which was taken possession of and declared a Colony of France. Much fighting has 
since occurred between tlv: French troops and Hie natives of the country, who are yet 
far from being subdued. 

44* 



522 MODERN HISTORY. 

were declared eligible to seats in Parliament, and to other civil and 
political offices from which they had hitherto been excluded. 

George IV. was succeeded in 1830 by his brother, the Duke of Cla- 
rence, as William IV., the Duke of Wellington being continued as 
prime-minister. But the desire for parliamentary reform, long cherished 
by the liberal party, had now become so powerful with the nation, that 
the elections to the new House of Commons were eminently unfavour- 
able to a Conservative cabinet, and another administration was accord- 
ingly organized under Earl Grey. Notwithstanding the most strenuous 
opposition on the part of the Tories, this statesman, supported by the. 
general voice of the nation, at length succeeded, in 1832, in carrying 
through Parliament the celebrated Reform Bill, by which the electoral 
franchise was placed chiefly in the hands of the middle classes, whose 
general influence has since been greatly augmented by reforms of the 
municipal corporations in the three kingdoms. In the following year, 
an act was passed for the abolition of slavery in the colonies, twenty 
millions sterling being given to the planters as an indemnification for 
the loss of property thereby occasioned. In 1837, King William was 
succeeded by her present majesty, Queen Victoria, who, in 1840, mar- 
ried her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The year 
of her majesty's accession was disturbed by a rebellion in Canada, 
which was speedily suppressed; but the chief grievances complained 
of have since been removed. * 

The Peninsular kingdoms, during the whole period since 1814, have 
presented a scene of great disorder. In 1820, an insurrection of the sol- 
diery compelled Ferdinand VII. of Spain to abandon his absolute prin- 
ciples and adopt the constitution of 1812; but the monarchical party, 
aided by the monks, contrived so to foment disorder, as to afford a pre- 
text for the French invasion in 1823. The patriots made a stout resist- 
ance, but were eventually compelled to yield ; and the appearance of 
tranquillity was for some time restored. A still more sanguinary strug- 
gle arose on the death of the king, who, having no male heirs, had abro- 
gated the salic law in favour of his infant daughter Isabella, thereby 
depriving his brother Don Carlos of the succession. The Queen-mother 
Christina had also been appointed regent; while the disappointed prince, 
at the head of a powerful party, prepared to maintain his pretensions by 
force of arms. A dreadful civil war was the consequence, during which 
the prisoners taken on both sides were frequently massacred in cold 
blood; while the queen-regent, who found her chief support in the libe- 
ral party, after adopting various popular measures, finally embraced the 
constitution of 1812. Her majesty received assistance, indirectly at 
least, both from France and England ; the contest continued to be waged 
with various success till 1839, when the cause of Don Carlos began tc 
lose ground; and finally, in 1840, a general pacification was effected. 
In the same year the regent resigned her authority, and the cortes con- 
ferred that dignity on General Espartero,| duke of Vittoria, who, how- 

* During the disturbances in Canada, the stream of emigration, which had hitherto 
flowed into that country, was directed towards the islands of Eastern Asia. The pro- 
gress made in the colonization of Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand, has 
been rapid beyond all precedent ; and these distant but valuable dependencies now form 
a most important field for the unemployed capital and population of the mother-country. 

t General Espartero was a man of humble origin, who owed his elevation mainly to his 



CONCLUSION. 523 

ever, retained his power but for a short period, being driven into exile 
in 1843, and the government reverting once more into that condition of 
disorder and uncertainty which has for so many years marred the pros- 
perity of this unhappy country. 

The adjoining kingdom of Portugal has been a prey to nearly similar 
commotions. John VI. survived his return to Europe nearly six years, 
during which the country was distracted by the intrigues of the Infante 
Don Miguel, who, at the head of what was called the apostolical party, 
contrived, though contrary to the wishes of his father, to procure the 
abrogation of the constitution adopted in 1820. On the death of his 
majesty in 1826, the crown fell to Don Pedro, emperor of Brazil, who, 
however, resigned his right in favour of his infant daughter, Donna 
Maria, at the same time granting a liberal constitution to the country, 
and appointing Don Miguel regent. But this prince was no sooner 
installed in his new dignity than he began openly to aspire to the throne ; 
and having assembled the cortes in 1829, succeeded in getting himself 
proclaimed sovereign of Portugal. Don Pedro, on his part, prepared to 
assert the rights of his daughter; and, having repaired to Europe, vigor- 
ous preparations were made to dethrone the usurper, in which he was 
aided by Britain and France. A sanguinary struggle of two years was 
waged between the forces of the royal brothers, till, in 1834, a treaty 
was signed at Lisbon between France, Spain, and England, for the ex- 
pulsion of the younger from the Portuguese territories. The contest 
was soon after terminated by the capitulation of Miguel at the conven- 
tion of Evora, by which he gave up his pretensions, and was permitted 
to leave the kingdom unmolested. The young queen was now firmly 
seated on the throne, her father being appointed regent ; but the state of 
his health having shortly after induced him to resign that office, the 
cortes declared Donna Maria of age, who, having taken the oath to the 
charter, assumed the exercise of the royal authority. The country has 
since that time been comparatively tranquil. 

The revolution in Greece forms another interesting episode in con- 
temporary history. When the insurrection broke out in the Morea and 
Archipelago in 1820, the cause of the Greeks was enthusiastically advo- 
cated throughout Europe, and particularly in England, where the me- 
mory of their ancient renown, as well as classical associations, induced 
many to volunteer in their cause. A barbarous intestine warfare con- 
tinued to be waged about six years, till in 1827, England, France and 
Russia united to put a stop to its horrors. The Porte, however, refused 
to accede to negotiations, and additional reinforcements were brought 
from Egypt, under Ibrahim Pacha, for the final reduction of the insur- 
gents. The armament of this chief, which consisted of ninety-two sail, 
including transports, found itself intercepted off Navarino, where the 
Turkish fleet was also at anchor, by a combined fleet of British, Rus- 
sians, and French, assembled for the protection of the Greeks. An 
armistice of twenty days was soon after agreed on ; but in consequence 
of an accidental collision, a fierce engagement ensued between the op- 
posing squadrons, which ended in the entire destruction of the Ottoman 

own exertions during the civil war. In 1836 he succeeded Cordova in the command of 
the Queen's armies, after which time his power and influence steadily advanced until 
he was temporarily placed at the head of the government. 



524 MODERN HISTORY. 

armament. The sultan now declared war against the three powers, and 
a sanguinary contest took place between the Turks and Russians, the 
latter °of whom were finally successful. After a long series of internal 
disorders, Greece was at length erected into an independent kingdom, 
and its crown conferred on Prince Otho of Bavaria in 1833. In conse- 
quence of the lengthened degradation and ignorance of the people, the 
country cannot yet be said to be in a prosperous condition; but there is 
reason to hope that a continuance of peace and regular government will 
yet develop its great internal resources. As for the Turkish empire 
itself, it is only prevented from falling to pieces by the mutual jealousies 
of the great European cabinets. The province of Egypt alone, under 
the able government of Mehemet AH, seems to be advancing in civilisa- 
tion; and though that prince has recently been compelled by the Chris- 
tian powers to abandon his pretensions to supreme sovereignty, and to 
acknowledge a nominal subjection to the Porte, the pashalic has been 
declared hereditary in his family, and he still retains all the weight of 
an absolute ruler. 

The states of Germany, since 1815, have continued to advance steadily 
in the career of prosperity. In 1833, an important commercial league, 
called the Zollverein, under the auspices of Prussia, was entered into 
by most of the governments, by which internal trade was freed from all 
restrictions, and a uniform system of duties agreed on. This union, 
though entirely commercial in its character, owes its origin in some 
measure to a general desire for nationalization, and cannot fail to exer- 
cise a material influence on the future destinies of the country. Prussia, 
in particular, under the wise and paternal rule of Frederick-William IV., 
has made a surprising progress in wealth and intelligence; while the 
recent grant of a representative legislature (1842), though under great 
restrictions, ranks her among the number of constitutional monarchies. 

Events of considerable interest have also taken place in the East. In 
India, in 1824, during the presidency of Lord Amherst, a war broke out 
with the Burmese, who had for many years annoyed the eastern frontier 
of the British territories. An expedition was sent to Rangoon, which in 
the second campaign advanced nearly to Ava, the capital, and the Bur- 
man government were glad to purchase peace in 182t> by the cession of 
Assam, Aracan, and the Tenasserim provinces. In 1840, the necessity 
of securing the western frontier from encroachment involved the Indian 
government in a dangerous contest with the rude tribes of Afghanistan, 
which has, however, been happily brought to a termination. 

The opening of the China trade to all British subjects, by the aboli- 
tion of the East India Company's monopoly in 1833, gave rise to a 
series of disputes with the native rulers, which at length led to open 
hostilities. These disputes, relating at first mainly to the legal rights 
and immunities to be enjoyed by the commercial superintendents ap- 
pointed by the British cabinet, came eventually to be merged in the 
greater question touching the traffic in opium, which had all along been 
in some measure declared contraband by the Imperial government. It 
was not, however, peremptorily prohibited till 1836; and even after- 
wards, through the connivance of the inferior authorities, an active 
smuggling trade continued to be carried on till 1839, when the Imperial 
Commissioner Lin, determined on its forcible suppression, seized the 



CONCLUSION. 525 

persons of the British merchants at Canton, and of Captain Elliot, the 
superintendent. That functionary was then compelled, by threats of 
personal violence to himself and fellow-prisoners, to issue an order for 
the surrender of all the opium on board the vessels in the vicinity of 
Canton, which, to the value of above £2,000,000 sterling, was accord- 
ingly given up to the Chinese, who destroyed it, — the captain at the 
same time pledging the faith of the English government for compensa- 
tion to the merchants. After various fruitless attempts to obtain satis- 
faction for this outrage, or even an accommodation by which the regular 
trade might be resumed, the cabinet of London resolved on hostilities. 
These, which have since been vigorously prosecuted, have given the 
Chinese a salutary lesson as to their inferiority to Europeans in military 
science and discipline ; and they have ended in a peace, signed August 
29, 1842, by which the emperor agrees to pay twenty-one million dollars 
by way of compensation, to open five of his principal ports to foreign 
commerce, and to surrender the island of Hong-Kong to the British 
crown for ever. 



THE END 



QUESTIONS 



TO 



WHITE'S UNIVERSAL HISTORY, 



DY 



JOHN S. HART, A.M. 

Principal of the Philadelphia High School, and Professor 

of Moral and Mental Science, Member cf the 

American Philosophical Society, Sec 



PHILADELPHIA: 

LEA AND BLANC HARD. 
lb'47. 



QUESTIONS 

TO 

WHITE'S UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Into what three portions is Universal History divided? What are the 
dates and events that mark these three periods ? How may Ancient History 
be subdivided ? What are the dates and events that mark these four pe- 
riods ? Give similar answers in regard to the subdivisions of the Middle 
Ages and Modern History. 

FORTY-FIRST CENTURY B. C. (Page 13.) 

What are the leading events of this century as described by Moses? 
What account of creation is given by geologists ? 

THIRTY-NINTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 14.) 

Give the history of Cain and Abel. Describe the descendants of Cain 
and Seth. What progress in the arts during this century ? 

THIRTY-FOURTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 14.) 

What was the great event of this century ? Describe the Deluge. What 
was one of the most remarkable consequences of the Deluge ? Describe 
the progress of mankind after the Deluge. 

TWENTY-THIRD CENTURY B. C. (Page 15.) 

How was the world divided among the descendants of Noah ? Give an 
account of the origin of Babylon. What do we learn from Scripture respect- 
ing the Abyssinian empire. What was the probable origin of the Chinese ? 
What nations have sprung from Japhet ? What from Shem ? What from 
Ham ? What were the three primitive languages, and what have sprung 
from each ? 

TWENTY-SECOND CENTURY E. C. (Page 17.) 

What is the character of early Egyptian history ? Give the substance 
of what is known in regard to the first settlement of Egypt. With whom 
does Egyptian history properly begin ? What have been the conjectures in 
regard to Menes ? What is the account of him given by Herodotus ? What 
was the leading doctrine of the Egyptian religion ? What were its leading 
deities ? What are some of its extravagancies ? What traits of Egyptian 
superstition are found in subsequent Jewish history ? Give some account 
of the government of Ancient Egypt. What proofs remain of the progress 
of the Egyptians ? What is said of the hieroglyphics of Egypt ? 

(3) 



4 QUESTIONS TO 

TWENTIETH CENTURY E. C. (Page 19.) 

When was Abraham born, and why did he leave his native country ? In 
what military expedition was he engaged after settling in Palestine ? What 
great catastrophe did he afterwards endeavour to prevent ? Give an account 
of Ishmael and his descendants. What striking evidence of piety did Abra- 
ham afterwards give ? When and at what age did he die ? Give his cha- 
racter. 

NINETEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 20.) 

What kingdom was founded in this century ? What great event of Egyp- 
tian history is supposed to have happened in this century ? Give some 
account of the invasion of the Shepherd Kings. What are some of the con- 
tradictory statements in regard to these events ? 

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 91.) 

Give the character and history of Isaac. Give the history of Jacob and 
Esau. How were the possessions of Isaac divided between them ? What 
were the circumstances that brought the Israelites at this time into connec- 
tion with the Egyptians ? What are some of the measures of Joseph while 
governor of Egypt? Why was Goshen selected for the residence of the 
Israelites ? What was the condition of Egypt at this time ? What other 
nation besides the Hebrews had their refugees in Egypt during this cen- 
tury? What elements of science and art did both the Hebrews and Greeks 
derive from the Egyptians ? 

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 22.) 

Give the conclusion of Jacob's and Joseph's history. What change in 
their mode of living was effected by their residence in Egypt ? What two 
branches of the Pelasgic race first settled Greece ? What is the origin 
of the Ionians ? What is said of the Hellenes ? What barbarous tribes 
occasionally mingled with these ? What was the character of the Scythians ? 
What remains of Pelasgian architecture exist, and what is its character ? 
What foreign influences gave the first impulse towards civilizing the Pe- 
lasgians ? What became of the Pelasgians, or primitive Greeks, after the 
settlement of the Egyptians under Cecrops and Inachus ? What other colo- 
nies reached Greece during this century, and what was their character ? 

SIXTEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 23.) 

What happened to the Israelites after the death of Joseph ? Give the 
history of Moses to the time of his divine appointment as leader of the 
Israelites ? What distinguished patriarch flourished in Idumea about the 
time of Moses ? Give some account of Job. What are some of the con- 
jectures as to the time that he lived ? What cities of Greece were founded 
about this time ? What circumstances in Egypt added new colonies to 
Greece ? Describe two remarkable inundations or floods that occurred in 
Greece at this age. When and by whom was the Amphyctionic C< uncil 
established ? Give some account of this famous Council. What was the 
most celebrated exertion of its authority ? 

FIFTEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 25.) 

How was the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt accomplished ? 
What signa 1 deliverance did they experience just after leaving Egypt? 



white's universal history. 5 

What was the number of Israelites at this time? Describe the events of the 
first three months after their march. What happened at Mount Sinai? 
Why did they not proceed at once to Palestine ? What was the penalty of 
this disobedience ? What were the circumstances of the death of Moses ? 
How was Moses esteemed by tbe ancients ? What is said of the Pentateuch, 
and the institutions of Moses ? What evidence is given in the Pentateuch 
of the progress of the arts among the Hebrews ? Give an account of the 
entrance ot* the Israelites into Canaan, and the capture of Jericho and Ai. 
In what manner did Joshua divide the land of Canaan after its conquest? 
What took place after his death? What are the leading features of Jewish 
polity and religion, as unfolded by Moses in the Pentateuch ? What great 
Egyptian hero nourished during the wanderings of the Israelites in the 
wilderness ? Give some account of the character of Sesostris. Where is 
Phoenicia, and what was its oldest city ? What were some of the commercial 
enterprises of the Sidonians? What progress had they made in the arts? 
What was the great city of Phoenicia ? What religious festival of the Athe- 
nians was instituted in this century ? Give some account of the Areopagus. 
What other Grecian city was founded in this century ? What great event in 
the history of Grecian literature occurred in this century? What great 
event in its religious history ? What great men and events were contempo- 
rary with the introduction of the letters of Cadmus and the oracle of Delphi 
into Greece ? Give some account of the Greek language and its dialects. 

FOURTEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 29.) 

What were the leading features of the Jewish government after the death 
of Joshua ? What is the character of their history for the next three or 
four centuries ? What signal deliverance at the hands of a woman during 
the fourteenth century ? What, beautiful pastoral narrative belongs to this 
period ? Give the story of Ruth. What famous lawgiver flourished soon 
after the death of Moses ? What were the principal features of the legisla- 
tion of Minos ? In what respects was the commonwealth of Crete similar to 
that of the Hebrev^s ? Whence the similarity between the legislation of 
Minos and of Moses ? What celebrated architect about half a century later, 
and what extraordinary work did he execute ? 

THIRTEENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 30.) 

What deliverance did the Jews experience in the thirteenth century? 
What events succeeded the death of Gideon ? What are the circumstances 
relative to the building and early history of Corinth? What famous expedi- 
tion occurred about this time ? What were the circumstances and the prin- 
cipal adventurers in the Argonautic expedition ? What two Grecian heroes 
were contemporary with Gideon and the Argonautic expedition ? In what 
relation does Theseus stand to Athens ? What were the leading measures 
in the administration of Theseus ? 

TWELFTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 31.) 

Give the story of Jephtha and his daughter. How is this event signalized 
in Grecian fable? What now deliverer appeared to the Jews soon after the 
death of Jephtha? Give the story of Sampson. What fabulous accounts of 
other nations seem based upon the history of Sampson ? What celebrated 
war occurred about this time ? What has given so much celebrity to the 
Trojan war? What was the origin of this war? What was its result? 
What was the subsequent career of its leaders ? What was its general influ- 
ence upon Grecian civilization ? 
1 * 



6 QUESTIONS TO 

ELEVENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 33.) 

What distinguished personage appeared in Judea early in this century ? 
In what relation did Samuel stand to the judges and the prophets ? What 
change of government took place in Judea under the administration of Sa- 
muel ? Give some account of the conduct and exploits of Saul, the first king 
of Judea? What were the circumstances attending the succession of David 
to the throne ? What extensions did he give to the territories of Judea ? 
What were some of his domestic difficulties ? What general change took 
place in the civil and religious polity of the Jews under the administration 
of David ? What is remarked of the lyric poetry of the Jews at this period ? 
Give some account of the life and actions of Solomon. What is remarked of 
his political talent and performances ? Give some account of the return of 
the Heraclidaa to the Peloponnesus. What act of heroic patriotism in Athe- 
nian history about this time? What change in the government of Athens 
occurred upon the death of Codrus ? Give some account of the origin and 
progress of Grecian colonization in this century. What was the condition 
and character of the colonies in Asia Minor ? Enumerate the leading Gre- 
cian colonies in the world at the close of this century. 

TENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 37.) 

What schism in the government of Judea on the death of Solomon ? What 
were the leading events in the history of the kingdom of Judah from the 
division of the kingdom to the end of the tenth century ? What religious 
deterioration did the kingdom of Israel experience after its separation from 
Judah? What were the leading events in the kingdom after its separation? 
What two great poets flourished in Greece about this time ? Give some 
account of the life and writings of Homer. Of Hesiod. What are the lead- 
ing features of the Grecian mythology, as found in the writings of Homer 
and Hesiod ? What was the condition of Syria at this time ? What was 
the career of Hadarezer ? OfRezon? Of Benhadad I.? OfHazael? 

NINTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 41.) 

What signal deliverance did the kingdom of Judah experience during the 
reign of Jehoshaphat ? What particulars are related of his successor Jeho- 
ram? What loss of territory was experienced in the reign of Jehoram ? 
What was the fate of his successor ? What circumstances are related of 
Joash ? Of Amaziah ? What was the religious condition of the kingdom 
of Israel at this time? What was the career of Ahaziah, king of Israel? 
Of his brother Jehoram ? In what manner was the siege of the capital of 
Moab raised? What remarkable deliverance did Jehoram subsequently 
experience? What were the character and career of Jehu? Of Jehoahaz ? 
OfJehoash? Of Jeroboam II. ? What distinguished prophet flourished in 
this century ? What famous Grecian lawgiver was contemporary with 
Elisha? From what sources did Lycurgus derive many of the principles of 
his legislation ? What was there peculiar in the mode of their introduction ? 
What had he in view probably in some of the leading provisions of his con- 
stitution ? What were the provisions of his constitution in regard to reli- 
gion ? Honours to the dead ? Form of government ? Division of property ? 
Money? Mode of living? Children? Education? Dress? Military 
stratagems? Literature? What was the great defect in the legislation of 
Lycurgus ? How was the population divided? How were the powers of the 
state distributed ? What was the condition of some of the social virtues 
among the Dorian race ? AVhat famous queen was contemporary with Ly- 
curgus and Elisha? Describe the origin and early history of Carthage. Its 



WHITE S UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 7 

civil polity ? Its religion ? Its commerce ? What empire afterwards famous 
traces its origin to this centnry ? 

EIGHTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 45.) 

Judea. — What successful enterprise did Azariah, king of Israel, undertake ? 
What was his end ? What were the character and history of Jonathan ? Ahaz ? 
What danger threatened Judah during the reign of Ahaz ? How was it 
averted ? What was the subsequent career of Ahaz ? What religious reforms 
were effected by his successor Hezekiah ? What did the kingdom suffer 
from foreign oppression during his reign ? What unexpected deliverance 
did they experience ? What events succeeded the destruction of Sennache- 
rib's army ? What distinguished prophet nourished in the reign of Hezekiah ? 
What was the general condition of the kingdom of Israel during the first 
part of this century? What are some of the leading events of its history * 
What were the circumstances and the date of its melancholy termination ? 
Where were the inhabitants carried ? What was the origin of the Sama- 
ritans ? 

Greece — What was the origin of the Greek Olympiads? Give some 
account of the Grecian games. 

Assyria. — What account is given in the Bible of the origin of Assyria ? 
Give some account of the intervening history from Ashur to Ninus. 
What conquests did Ninus achieve ? What great projects were exe- 
cuted by his queen and successor, Semiramis ? What is known of the 
Assyrian empire from Semiramis toSardanapalus? What was the character 
of Sardanapalus ? What was his fate? How was the Assyrian empire di- 
vided on the death of Sardanapalus ? Who was the first king of the Ninevite 
portion of this empire, or the new Assyrian monarchy ? What steady line 
of policy was pursued by Pul and his descendants ? Give some account of 
his successor Tiglath-Pileser. Of Shalmanezcr. Of Sennacherib. Who 
was the first king of the Babylonian portion of the old Assyrian empire, or 
the new Babylonian empire ? What doubts have been raised in regard to 
Belisis and Nabonasar ? What else is known of the next Babylonian empire 
in this century ? — [N. B. The third, or Median portion of the old Assyrian 
empire, will be noticed in the following centuries under the title of Media, or 
the Median empire.] 

Lydia. — What are some of the traditions respecting the kingdom of 
Lydia ? With what monarch does the genuine history of Lydia begin ? 
What natural phenomenon is celebrated in this period of Lydian his- 
tory ? What was the character of Croesus, and the subsequent history of 
Lydia ? 

Rome. — What are some of the earliest traditions of Italy ? What was the 
origin of Rome ? What line of policy did Romulus and the Romans after 
him adopt towards conquered nations ? Who was the successor of Romulus, 
and what was his character ? Give the dates of the following personages 
and events: Isaiah, Hezekiah, Sardanapalus, Gyges, Romulus, the captivity 
of the ten tribes, the first Olympiad, the downfall of the old Assyrian em- 
pire, and the building of Rome. 

SEVENTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 53.) 

Judea. — What disasters befel Judea after the death of Hezekiah? What 
Ivas the conduct of Manasseh after being restored to the throne ? What 



8 QUESTIONS TO 

deliverance was experienced by the Jews at the hands of a woman ? What 
were the principal events of the reign of Josiah ? What ensued from the 
death of Josiah to the captivity of Judah ? 

Assyria. — What were the principal events in the second empire of Nine- 
veh, under the reign of Esarhaddon ? Saosduchin ? Saracus ? What were 
the principal events in the second empire of Babylon, in the beginning of 
this century ? In the reign of Nabopolasar ? What were the circumstances 
of Nebuchadnezzar's first expedition against Jerusalem? 

Media. — What circumstances indicate the early importance and civilization 
of Media? What is known of its history prior to Deioces ? What hap- 
pened under Deioces ? Phaortes ? Cyaxares ? What has in all ages been the 
character of Asiatic revolutions? 

Persia. — What circumstances are known of the early history of the Per- 
sians ? What was their condition at the time of their subjugation by the 
Medes? What were their religious opinions and customs? Give some 
account of Zoroaster and his opinions. 

Egypt. — What notices of Egyptian history are found from the time of 
Solomon to that of Psammitichus ? By what means did the latter succeed 
to the throne of Egypt ? What circumstances render his reign one of 
peculiar interest? What great plan of conquest was undertaken by his 
successor, Pharaoh Necho ? In what other great undertakings did he 
engage ? 

Greece. — What Athenian lawgiver flourished in this century? What 
were the character and fate of the laws of Draco? What circumstances 
led to the appointment of Solon as supreme lawgiver of Athens ? What 
circumstances are known of the early history of Messenia ? What was the 
origin of the quarrei between the Messcnians and the Lacedaemonians ? 
What were the principal occurrences of the first or twenty years 1 war ? 
What was the condition of the Messcnians for the next thirty years ? State 
the events and melancholy termination of the second war. What Grecian 
colonies were founded about this time ? 

Rome. — What military achievements were accomplished by the Romans 
under Tullius Hostilius ? What works of peace were executed under his 
successor, Ancus Martius ? What were the leading events in the history of 
Tarquin the Elder ? 

SIXTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 61.) 

Judea. — What led to Nebuchadnezzar's second expedition against Jerusa- 
lem ? What was its result ? What were the circumstances attending his third 
expedition against the sacred city ? How and when did the captive Jews 
return and rebuild the city and temple ? What change did the seventy years' 
captivity effect in the character of the Jews? What change took place also 
in their language ? What are some of the facts in the history of the Jews 
that go to illustrate the character of Divine Providence ? What interesting 
episode in Jewish history occurred during the time of their residence at Ba- 
bylon ? 

Assyria. — What was the condition of the Babylonian empire under Nebu- 
chadnezzar the Great ? What were his conquests ? What works of peace did 
he execute? What signal calamity befel him? What distinguished pro- 
phet flourished at his court ? What were the character and history of Evil- 
Merodach ? Nenglissar ? Belshazzar ? Queen Nitocris ? What were the 



white's universal history. 9 

circumstances of the capture of Babylon by Cyrus ? What is the conjecture 
of Dr. Hales in regard to the death of Belshazzar ; and the succession of Cya- 
xares, or Darius the Mede ? 

Persia. — What was the career of Daniel after the capture of Babylon ? 
What further particulars of the history of Cyrus are gathered from the 
sacred writings ? What are the origin and early history of Cyrus, as gathered 
from the Greek historians ? Who succeeded Cyrus the Great ? What are 
the principal events in the life of Cambyses ? What events occurred under 
his successor, Darius Hystaspes ? What change took place during this cen- 
tury in the mode of life and policy of the Persians? 

Egypt. — In what manner did the family of Psammitichus in Egypt ter- 
minate ? Give an account of the revolt of Amasis. What line of policy did 
he pursue towards the Greeks ? What were some of the rest of his acts ? 
What befel Egypt soon after his death ? How does its subsequent history 
fulfil the prediction of Ezekiel? 

Greece. — What famous Athenian lawgiver flourished early in this cen- 
tury ? What provision did Solon make respecting the relation between 
debtor and creditor ? Where did he establish the sovereign power ? What 
division of the people did he make ? How did his legislation compare with 
that of Lycurgus? Give the character and history of Pisistr-atus ? What 
events followed his death? What is said of Harmodius and Aristogiton? 
What difficulties arose from the contentions of Clisthenes and Isagoras ? 
What successes did the city obtain, notwithstanding its internal dissensions ? 
What was the condition and history of Lacedaemonia at the same time ? 
Enumerate the seven wise men of Greece. 

Rome. — What wise measures were adopted in Rome by Servius Tullius ? 
What was the policy of his successor, Tarquin the Proud ? What were some 
of his public acts ? What were the principal features in the constitution of 
Rome as it existed at this time ? 

China. — What account is given of Confucius? 

FIFTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 71.) 

Judea. — What was the origin of the expedition of Ezra to Jerusalem ? 
What was its result? What further is related of Judea? 

Greece. — What led to the invasion of Greece by Darius ? What great 
battle ensued ? What circumstances of that battle are given ? What was 
the subsequent career of Miltiades ? What tw T o individuals now took the 
lead in Athenian affairs ? What more formidable invasion of Greece fol 
lowed ? What particulars are related of the battle of Thermopylae ? What 
great naval battle soon followed ? What were the particulars of this battle ? 
What defeats did Mardonius experience after Xerxes returned to Persia ? 
What were the general results of the Persian invasion upon Grecian affairs ? 
What distinguished writers flourished about this time ? What was the ca- 
reer of Themistocles after the victory at Salamis? What was the character 
of Cimon ? What were some of his exploits ? Who was his rival ? What 
dreadful catastrophe befel Sparta about this time ? What are some of the 
particulars of that event ? What other imminent peril ensued, and how was 
it avoided ? What was the character of Pericles ? What was the condition 
of Athens under his administration ? What celebrated war grew out of the 
rivalry between Athens and Sparta ? What were the real grounds of this 
rivalry ? In the Peloponnesian war, what states were found on the side of 



10 QUESTIONS TO 

Athens ? What on the side of Sparta ? What was the great event of the 
war ? Who were the great men engaged in it ? What great calamity befel 
Athens during the early part of the war ? What distinguished leader died of 
the plague ? What terrible domestic tragedy occurred at Lacedaemon at this 
time ? What was the character of Alcibiades ? What was the origin of 
the Sicilian expedition ? What were its results ? What victories were won 
by the Athenians after the recal of Alcibiades ? What great naval victory 
was achieved by the Spartans soon after, under the conduct of Lysander? 
How did Lysander follow up his victory? What terms did he prescribe to 
the vanquished city ? What were the general effects of the Peloponnesian 
war upon Greece ? What was the condition of literature and the arts in 
Greece at this time ? What effort was made by Thrasybulus to restore 
Athens to her former condition ? How did Alcibiades terminate his career ? 
What mode of banishment existed at Athens ? What instances are given 
of Athenian ingratitude ? 

Persia. — What notices of Xerxes are given besides his expedition into 
Greece ? What were the events of the empire under Artaxerxes Longima- 
nus ? What were the particulars of the expedition of Cyrus the younger, 
and the retreat of the ten thousand ? 

Rome. — What were the particulars of the attempts to restore royalty at 
Rome ? What contentions ensued between the Plebeians and the Patri- 
cians ? What were the origin and object of the office of tribune ? In what 
manner did Coriolanus distinguish himself? What was the origin of the 
Agrarian laws ? To what controversies did they give rise ? To what new 
office did these contentions lead ? What was the history of the decemviri ? 
What was the general result of the disputes between the Patricians and Ple- 
beians ? Give some account of the Volscian and Veientine wars. Give some 
account of the twelve tables, and of the origin of Roman jurisprudence. 

Carthage. — What is said of the extent of the Carthaginian possessions at 
this time ? What contests between the Greeks and Carthaginians ? What 
was the origin of the long contest between the Romans and Carthaginians ? 

FOURTH CENTURY B. C. (Page 82.) 

Greece. — What great philosopher flourished in Greece in the beginning 
of this century ? What was the character of Socrates ? What was the 
Socratic mode of philosophizing ? On what charge and how did he die? 
What were the two great schools of philosophy ? Into what sects was the 
Ionian school subdivided, and who were the principal philosophers in each 
sect ? Give a similar account of the Italian school. What was the character 
ofAgesilaus? What were the principal transactions between the Greeks 
and the Persians during his reign ? What new line of policy did Persia 
adopt towards the Greeks about this time ? By what circumstances was 
Thebes first brought into notice ? What was the career of Epaminondas ? 
Give some account of the early history of Macedon. What led to the Sacred 
War ? What were its consequences ? What course was pursued by De- 
mosthenes in this war ? What was the first expedition of Alexander the 
Great ? What terrible vengeance did he execute upon Thebes immediately 
after ? What preparations did he make for the invasion of Asia ? Describe 
the battle of the Granicus ? What were the immediate consequences of this 
battle ? What are the particulars of Alexander's progress through Syria ? 
Egypt ? His return to Persia ? His last great battle with Darius ? His 
march to Babylon? To Persepolis ? What adverse events occurred in 



white's universal history. 11 

Greece during this victorious career of Alexander abroad ? How- did Darius 
finally die ? What conspiracy was formed against Alexander's life ? What 
instances of ungovernable passion did he exhibit? What means did he take 
to consolidate and perpetuate his conquests ? Where and how did he die ? 
What was the condition of the empire after his death ? What commotions 
arose in Greece after his death ? What were the circumstances of the death 
of Demosthenes ? What were the character and fate of Phocion ? Deme- 
trius Phalereus ? Demetrius, son of Antigonus ? How was the empire 
finally partitioned among the generals of Alexander ? What account is 
given of Grecian architecture? Sculpture? Painting? Music? Poetry? 
Writing? Eloquence? History? Philosophy? What errors have been 
propagated respecting the character of Alexander ? What was the influence 
of his reign upon the human race ? 

Rome. — What was the condition of the Gauls when first brought into con- 
tact with the Romans 1 Give some account of the capture of Rome by the 
Gauls under Brennus. What measures were taken to rebuild Rome after its 
destruction by the Gauls ? What account is given of the Licinian laws ? 
Of the wars with the Samnites ? What alterations were effected in the con- 
stitution of the commonwealth ? 

Judea. — What account is given of the crime of the High Priest Jonathan ? 
Of the treatment of the Jews by Alexander ? By Ptolemy Soter ? By Pto- 
lemy Philadelphus ? What is the history of the Septuagint translation of 
the Bible ? Of the completion of the ancient Scriptures ? 

Persia. — What account is given of the condition of Persia after the retreat 
of the ten thousand ? Under Artaxerxes ? Under Ochus ? What was the 
character of Darius III. ? 

THIRD CENTURY B. C. (Page 95.) 

Rome. — What account is given of Tarentum ? The war on its account 
between the Romans and Pyrrhus ? Syracuse ? The origin of the first 
Punic war ? The condition of Rome on entering upon these wars ? The 
events of the first Punic war ? The conflicts between the Romans and the 
Gauls ? The origin of Hannibal ? His line of policy ? His victorious ca- 
reer in Spain and Italy ? The conclusion of the war ? The subsequent 
career of Hannibal ? His death ? The influence upon Rome of her contests 
with Greece and Carthage? The state of the world at the end of the second 
Punic war ? The affairs of Macedon after the death of Alexander ? The 
expedition of the Gauls into Greece ? The Achaean League ? 

Egypt. — What account is given of the affairs of Egypt under Ptolemy 
Soter ? Ptolemy Philadelphus ? Ptolemy Euergetes ? Ptolemy Philopator ? 
Ptolemy Epiphanes ? The general condition of Egypt under the Ptolemies ? 

Parthia. — What account is given of the origin of this kingdom ? Its 
contests with the Romans ? Its political institutions ? 

SECOND CENTURY B. C. (Page 1010 

Rome. — What account is given of the conquest of Macedon ? The origin 
of the war with Antiochus ? The events of the war ? Its results ? The 
renewal of hostilities in Macedon ? Their termination under Paulus iEmi- 
lius ? The terms prescribed to the vanquished Macedonians ? The conquest 
of Greece ? The origin of the third Punic war ? Its bloody termination ? 
The character of the Spaniards ? The origin of the contest between them 



12 QUESTIONS TO 

and the Romans ? The events of the war under Sempronius ? Cato ? 
Paulus ^Emilius ? Sempronius Gracchus ? Piso? Nobilior ? Mummius ? 
The victories and death of the peasant Viriathus ? The conclusion of the 
war under Scipio iEmilianus ? The invasion of Italy by the Gauls under 
Hamilcar ? The success of the Romans ? The final conquest of Cisalpine 
Gaul under Scipio Nasica ? The origin of the Ligurian war ? The conduct 
ofPopilius? A remarkable incident in the conquest of Istria ? The effect 
upon Rome of the downfall of her enemies ? The influence of Greece and 
the East upon Roman manners ? The efforts of Cato to revive the ancient 
manners ? The oppression of the provinces ? The struggles for office among 
the nobles ? The altered condition and character of the plebeian order ? 
The struggles between the Senate and the Knights ? The circumstances 
calculated to aggravate these disorders ? The condition and extent of slavery 
in Italy ? The Servile war ? The origin of Tiberius Gracchus ? His pro- 
ject? His fate? The measures of Caius Gracchus? His fate? The 
measures of the aristocratic party after the death of the Gracchi ? The 
Jugurthine war ? The invasion of Gaul by the Cimbri and Teutones ? 
Their defeat by Marius ? His triumph 1 His innovation in favour of the 
lowest populace ? 

Judea and Syria. — What account is given of the affairs of Judea under 
Ptolemy Lagus ? The persecutions of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes ? 
The sufferings of Eleazar and his seven sons ? The successful enterprise of 
Judas Maccabaeus ? The subsequent struggles of the Maccabees with Anti- 
ochus Eupator and Demetrius ? The death of Judas Maccabaeus ? The 
subsequent career of Jonathan ? Of Simon ? Of John Hyrcanus ? Of 
Aristobulus ? 

FIRST CENTURY B. C. (Page 112.) 

Rome. — What account is given of the decline of Marius in popular favour ? 
His intrigues to maintain his ascendency ? The progress of the democratic 
principle ? The attempts of Livius Drusus to reconcile the parties ? His 
fate ? The bloody struggles between the metropolis and the Italian towns ? 
The character and resources of Mithridates? His conduct towards the 
Romans ? The struggle between Marius and Sylla ? The expedition of 
Sylla against Mithridates ? Its result ? The outrage of the Marian party 
at Rome during Sylla's absence ? death of Marius ? return of Sylla ? His 
revenge? His dictatorship? His resignation and death? The state of 
parties in the republic at this time ? The popular faction under Lepidus and 
Brutus? The Sertorian war ? The servile war under Spartacus ? Its ter- 
mination by Crassus ? The contention between Crassus and Pompey ? The 
good fortune of Pompey ? The character of Verres ? His misconduct in 
Sicily ? His trial and condemnation ? Pompey's war against the pirates ? 
The renewal of war by Mithridates ? The operations against Mithridates 
by Cotta ? By Lucullus? By Pompey? The extraordinary project of 
Mithridates ? His death ? The foreign and domestic condition of the re- 
public on the downfall of Mithridates ? The character of Catiline ? His 
conspiracy ? Its defeat by Cicero ? Cicero's exile and recall ? The parti- 
tion of power by the Triumvirate ? The death of Crassus ? The state of 
affairs at Rome during Caesar's absence in Gaul ? Caesar's campaigns in 
Gaul ? His policy at the close of the Gallic war ? The proceedings of 
Pompey and his party against Caesar ? The hesitation of Caesar before 
" crossing the Rubicon" ? His entrance into Italy ? His success in Spain ? 
His pursuit of Pompey ? His victory at Pharsalia? His subsequent suc- 
cesses in Egypt and Spain ? His triumphs ? His promotion of the arts of 
peace ? His death ? His character ? The conduct of Antony after the 



white's universal history. 13 

death of Caesar? The horrors of the second triumvirate? The death of 
Cicero ? The defeat and death of Antony ? The progress of Augustus to 
universal dominion ? The birth of Jesus Christ? The history of Roman 
literature ? The policy of Augustus towards writers ? The writers of the 
Augustan age distinguished for Eloquence ? Poetry ? Tragedy ? Comedy ° 
Satire ? History ? Philosophy ? 

Judea. — What account is given of the contentions between Alexander 
Jannaaus and the Pharisees ? The interference of the Romans in favour of 
Hyrcanus ? The establishment of Herod upon the throne of Judea ? The 
extent of his dominions? His cruelties? The birth of the Saviour? 

FIRST CENTURY A. D. (Page 124.) 

Rome. — What account is given of the extent and condition of the Roman 
empire under Augustus ? His character ? The domestic troubles of his 
later days ? The mode by which he perpetuated his power ? His adminis- 
tration of the empire ? The contrast between him and Tiberius ? The 
sycophancy of the Senate ? The cruelties and death of Sejanus ? The rapa- 
city of Tiberius ? His death ? The death of Jesus Christ ? The foreign 
wars of the Romans under Tiberius ? The character and reign of Caligula ? 
The mode in which Claudius succeeded to the empire ? The beneficial acts 
of his government ? The reign of Nero ? Galba ? Otho ? Vitellius ? 
Vespasian ? The destruction of Jerusalem ? The events of the empire 
during the reign of Titus? The reign of Domitian ? The character of the 
twelve Caasars, as described by Gibbon ? 

Judea. — What account is given of the reign of Archelaus ? The reign of 
Pontius Pilate ? The life of Herod Agrippa ? His remarkable death ? The 
condition of the Jews under their various governors ? Their condition under 
Claudius Felix ? The atrocities of Florus ? The origin of the rebellion ? 
The conduct of the Christians in this emergency ? The progress of Vespa- 
sian against Jerusalem ? The circumstances of its siege and capture by 
Titus ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the life and death of the Saviour? 
The progress of Christianity after the death of Christ? The constitution of 
the church ? The first persecution ? The second persecution ? 

Britain. — What account is given of the invasion and conquest of this 
island ? The means taken by the Romans to perpetuate their conquest ? 
The original inhabitants of Britain? Their condition, mode of life, 
religion, &c. ? 

SECOND CENTURY A. D. (Page 134.) 

Rome. — What account is given of the mode of Trajan's succession to the 
empire ? His manners and administration ? His foreign wars ? The revolt 
of the Jews ? The character of Trajan ? The character and acts of Adrian ? 
The reign of Antoninus Pius? The calamities of the empire under Marcus 
Aurelius Antoninus ? The character and excesses of Commodus ? The 
influence of the Praetorian Guards ? The events of the empire after the death 
of Commodus? The condition of the empire at this time ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the spread of Christianity ? The 
third persecution under Trajan ? The martyrdom of Simeon and Ignatius? 
The fourth persecution under Marcus Aurelius ? The reasons that led so 

2 



14 QUESTIONS TO 

humane a prince to be the most fatal persecutor of Christianity? The mar- 
tyrdom of Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Pothinus and Blandina? 

THIRD CENTURY A. D. (Page 139.) 

Rome. — What account is given of the rise of Septimius Severus to supreme 
power? His cruelties as emperor? His death ? The cruelties and death 
of Caracalla ? The character and late of Heliogabalus ? The administra- 
tion of Alexander Severus? The influence of his mother Mammaja and the 
lawyer Ulpian ? The success of their attempts to maintain the vigour and 
integrity of the empire ? The origin and character of Maximin ? His cruel- 
ties and death ? Gordian III. ? Philip the Arabian ? Valerius ? Gallie- 
nus? Claudius? Aurelian? Tacitus? Probus ? The condition of the 
common people during these frequent changes of administration ? The 
great change in the form of government under Diocletian? His abdication? 
Its causes 1 

Palmyra. — What account is given of the origin of Zenobia ? Her capi- 
tal ? Her contests with the Romans ? Her misfortunes ? The critic Lon- 
ginus ? 

Persia. — What account is given of the exploits of Artaxerxes ? The 
restoration of the religion of the Magi? The character and reign of Sapor 1 
The struggles of Chosroes, king of Armenia, and his son Tiridates, against 
the Persians ? 

Barbarian Invasions. — What account is given of the origin of the Goths 
who invaded the empire under Decius ? their language and religion ? The 
Franks? The Allemanni ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the fifth persecution under Seve- 
rus ? The sixth persecution under Maximin? The seventh under Decius ? 
The eighth under Valerian ? The ninth under Aurelian ? The tenth under 
Diocletian? The cruelties of Galerius towards Christians? his death ? The 
death of Maximin ? 

FOURTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 147.) 

Rome. — What account is given of the partition of the empire on the death 
of Diocletian ? The elevation of Constantine to the purple? The elevation 
of Maxentius and Maximin? The administration of Galerius? The admi- 
nistration of Maxentius ? His overthrow by Constantine ? The overthrow 
of Maximin by Licinius ? The progress of Constantine to the command of 
the whole empire ? The change of the capital ? The domestic troubles of 
Constantine ? His partition of the empire ? His death ? The administra- 
tion of the empire under Constantine ? The state of the finances ? The 
disorders of the empire on the death of Constantine ? The progress of affairs 
till Constantius became sole emperor ? The conduct and death of Gallus ? 
The education of Julian ? His elevation to the purple ? His apostasy > 
His reforms ? His death ? His character and administration ? 

Eastern Empire. — What account is given of the government of the Eastern 
Empire under Valens ? The battle between him and the Goths at Adriano- 
ple? The elevation of Theodosius? His success against the Goths ? The 
other events of his reign? His character? 

Western Empire. — What account is given of the inroads of the barbarians 
under Valentinian ? The affairs of the Western Empire under Gratian ? 
Valentinian II. ? The condition of the Western Empire at this time ? The 
settlement of the Ostrogoths and Visigoths under Aurelian ? The first ap- 



white's universal history. 15 

pearance of the Huns in Europe ? Their character and previous history ? 
Their entrance into Europe ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the progress of the Church under 
persecution ? The Arian controversy ? The constitution of the Church in 
this century ? The errors of Arius ? The general councils on this subject? 
The assumption of authority by the Church of Rome in this century ? The 
circumstances which tended to increase it ? The benefits resulting from the 
establishment of Christianity by Constantine ? The errors of the Gnostics ? 
The Manichees ? The Carpocratians ? The Nicolaitans ? The Montanists ? 
The names of the different heresies concerning the nature of Christ ? The 
heresies respecting the will and original sin ? 

FIFTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 158.) 

Eastern Empire. — What account is given of the affairs of the Eastern 
Empire under Arcadius ? The invasion of the Visigoths under Alaric ? 
The administration of Pulcheria ? Theodosius ? Marcian ? Leo the Great? 
Zeno ? Anastasius ? 

Western Empire. — What account is given of the successes of the armies 
of Honorius, under Stilicho, against the Visigoths ? The death of Stilicho ? 
The capture and sack of Rome by Alaric? The events of Europe after the 
death of Alaric ? The progress and power of Genseric the Vandal in Africa ? 
The progress of the Huns under Attila against the Eastern Empire ? Their 
irruption into the Western Empire ? The battle between the Huns and 
Visigoths in Gaul ? Attila's inroads into Italy ? His death ? The sack of 
Rome by Genseric the Vandal ? The attempts of Majorian to restore the 
empire ? His successors ? The peaceful measures of Odoacer ? His over- 
throw and death ? The change in the aspect of the world on the downfall 
of the empire of the West? 

Venice. — What account is given of the origin of this republic ? 

Gaul. — What account is given of the early inhabitants of Gaul ? The 
inroads of the northern barbarians in the fifth century? The settlement of 
the Franks in Gaul ? The foundation of the French monarchy ? 

Britain. — What account is given of the contests between the Britons and 
the Picts and Scots ? The occasion of calling in the aid of the Saxons ? 
Their establishment in the kingdom? 

The Church. — What account is given of the origin of Monachism ? Paul 
of Thebes ? St. Anthony? The propagation of Monachism by the disciples 
of St. Anthony ? The causes which contributed to the rapid spread of 
Monachism ? The excesses to which it led ? The conversion of the north- 
ern barbarians ? The character of the barbarian converts ? The spread of 
Christianity in the East ? 

History of Literature. — What account is given of the Alexandrian 
school ? The New Platonists ? Their suppression under Constantine ? Theii 
revival under Julian ? Hypatia ? Proclus ? Sacred literature ? Clement? 
Origen ? Justin Martyr ? Tertullian 1 Irenseus ? Early translations of 
the Scriptures ? Gregory Thaumaturgus and Cyril of Jerusalem ? Cy- 
prian ? The golden age of ecclesiastical literature ? The character of the 
early fathers of the Church ? The character and writings of Athanasius ? 
Eusobius? Basil? Gregory of Nyssa ? Gregory of Nazianzen ? Chrysos- 
tom .' The other Greek fathers ? Arnobius and Lactantius ? Hilary ? 



10 QUESTIONS TO 

Ambrose? Jerome? Augustine? Dionysius the Little ? Profane learning 
in the West? Claudian ? Priscian ? Ammianus Marcellinus ? Gildas ? 
Bede? Boethius ? Philology? Poetry in the East? Romance? History? 
Geography ? Philology ? Mathematics ? 

SIXTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 173.) 

The Middle Ages. — How many centuries are embraced in this period ? 
Flow are the first five of these characterized ? What was the condition of 
Europe about the middle of this period ? What common bond of union 
among all the minute fragments into which the Western Empire had been 
broken ? What great enterprise cemented this union ? What were the 
leading national affairs from the Crusades to the Reformation ? 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of Belisarius? His successes 
against the Persians ? His success against the Vandals in Africa ? Against 
the Goths in Italy ? His second command in Italy ? His services at Con- 
stantinople ? His death ? Narses ? His expedition and government in 
Italy ? His recall ? The factions of the circus ? Their excesses ? The 
earthquakes in the time of Justinian ? The plague ? The introduction of 
silk into Europe ? The Justinian Code ? The alliance of the Turks with 
Justinian ? The character of his reign ? The reign of Tiberius ? Of 
Maurice ? 

Persia. — What account is given of the Sassanian dominion in Persia ? 
The reign of Chosroes ? Of Hormisdas ? The general Varanes ? The 
deposition of Hormisdas? The succeeding events of the empire? 

Italy. — What account is given of Theodoric's appointment to the kingdom 
of Italy ? His success against Odoacer ? His reign ? His enlargements 
of the territory ? His general administration ? The affairs of Italy under 
Totila and Narses ? The invasion of the Lombards ? The circumstances 
of the death of Alboin ? The subsequent events among the Lombards ? 
The propagation of Christianity among them ? The origin of the feudal 
system ? 

France. — What account is given of the dominions of Clovis ? The other 
provinces of Gaul ? The successes of Clovis against Syagrius ? Against 
the Allemani ? The conversion of Clovis ? His expedition against the 
Visigoths ? His investiture by the emperor Athanasius ? The affairs of the 
kingdom after his death ? The civil wars of France after the death of Clo- 
taire? The Frank laws ? 

Spain. — What account is given of the invasion of Spain by the barbarians ? 
The foundation of the Gothic monarchy in Spain by Ataulphus ? His sue- 
cessor Wallia ? The power and success of Euric ? The affairs of Spain 
after the death of Euric ? Its conversion to Christianity ? 

Britain. — What account is given of the foundation of the Saxon Heptar- 
chy? The character and exploits of King Arthur ? The disasters attending 
the settlement of the Saxons in Britain ? The conversion of the Saxons to 
Christianity ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the British Church previous to 
the mission of Augustine ? The precise object of that mission ? The origin 
and result of the fifth general council ? The rise of Gregory the Great ? 
His character and administration? The Benedictines? Their condition 
and discipline ? The services done by them to society ? 



white's universal history. 17 

SEVENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 186.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the oppressions and death of 
Phocas ? The accession of Heraclius ? The assaults upon the empire by 
Chosroes II. ? The invasion of the Avars ? The ignominious terms im- 
posed upon Heraclius by Chosroes ? The subsequent successes of Heraclius ? 
His triumphal return from the East? The exhausted condition of the em- 
pire ? The first appearance of the Mussulmans in Europe ? Their successes 
against Heraclius ? The affairs of the empire under his successors? 

Persia. — What account is given of the successes of Chosroes II. ? His 
reverses ? His death ? His magnificence ? 

Arabia. — What account is given of the Arabs ? Their political condition ? 
Their religion ? The various attempts to conquer them ? The early history 
and character of Mohammed? His first converts? The Hegira? His 
authority and influence at Medina ? His line of policy ? His successes in 
Arabia ? His death ? The reputed origin of the Koran ? Its contents ? 
Mohammed's definition of his religion ? Some further particulars of its 
doctrines and ceremonies ? Its progress under the first four caliphs ? The 
conquest of Syria under Abubeker ? The capture of Arrestan ? The con- 
quest of Egypt under Omar ? The capture of Alexandria ? The destruc- 
tion of the Alexandrian library ? The progress of the Mohammedans in the 
East ? The contest between Ali and the rebel Moawiyah ? Its result ? 
The two great sects of the Mohammedans ? The proceedings of Moawiyah 
against the Africans ? Against the Greeks? The Greek fire ? The com- 
munications of the Arabs with China and India ? The conquest and con- 
version of Africa under Hassan? 

Italy. — What acconnt is given of the exarchate of Ravenna? The Lom- 
bard kingdom in Italy ? The doge of Venice ? The other particulars of the 
political constitution of Venice ? The establishment of its hereditary aris- 
tocracy ? 

France. — What account is given of the reunion of the French monarchy 
under Clotaire II. ? The origin and powers of the mayors of the palace ? 
The reign of Dagobert ? The Sluggard Kings 7 

Spain. — What account is given of Gondebert and his successors ? The 
proceedings of the fourth council of Toledo ? The affairs of Spain under 
Chintilla ? Recesvind ? Wamba ? Erwiga ? The conspiracy and subse- 
quent sufferings of the Jews? The archbishops of Toledo ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the progress of the Eutychian 
heresy ? The triple crown ? 

EIGHTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 199.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the termination of the Hera- 
clian dynasty ? The origin of Leo III. ? His successes ? His zeal against 
image- worship ? The reign of Constantine V.? Of Leo IV. ? The resolu- 
tions of the second council of Nice respecting image-worship ? The career 
of the empress Irene? 

Arabia. — What account is given of the attempts of the caliphs to extend 
their dominions westward ? The overthrow of the Omniades ? The eleva- 
tion of the Abassides to the caliphate ? The family of the Omniades in 
Spain? The cruelties of Almanzor? The persecution of the descendants 
of Ali? The elevation of Haroun Al Raschid to the caliphate? His war 
with the Greeks ? His embassy to Charlemagne ? His cruelty to the family 



18 QUESTIONS TO 

of the Barmecides ? His patrona gc of letters ? The condition of Arab civil- 
ization in this century ? 

Spain. — What account is given of the conquest of Spain by the Arabs? 
Their policy towards the conquered Christians ? The elevation of Abdalrah- 
man to the caliphate of the West? The magnificence of Hassan I., caliph 
of Cordova? The affairs of Christian Spain under Pelayo ? Alphonso the 
Catholic ? Fruela ? Alphonso the Chaste ? The salutary effects of the 
residence of the Moors in Spain ? 

Italy. — What account is given of the reign of Luitprand ? The extinc- 
tion of the exarchate of Ravenna? The origin of the Pope's temporal sove- 
reignty ? The condition of the papacy under Gregory III. ? The elevation 
of Astolphus to the throne of the Lombards ? The interposition of the 
Franks in behalf of the Pope and against the Lombards ? The bestowal of 
the exarchate upon the Pope ? 

France. — What account is given of the victory of Charles Martel over the 
Saracens ? The division of the Frank dominions on the death of Charles 
Martel? The elevation of Pepin to the regal authority? His efforts to 
strengthen the kingly power ? The union of the entire Frank monarchy 
under Charlemagne? His wars with the Saxons? With the Saracens* 
His visit to Rome in defence of Pope Leo III. ? The extent of his domin- 
ions ? The influence of his imperial title ? His political reforms ? His 
literary character ? His private life ? The condition of the Western Em 
pire in his time ? The Eastern Empire ? The empire of the caliphs ? 
Denmark ? Sweden, Russia and Poland ? Bohemia ? Spain ? Rome 9 
Venice ? England ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the grounds of difference between 
the Greek and Latin Churches ? The efforts of Leo the Iconoclast to abolish 
images? The result of the council of Constantinople ? The proceedings of 
Gregory II., Bishop of Rome, in reference to the use of images ? The 
council of the Lateran? The second council of Nice ? The disposition and 
conduct of Charlemagne towards the Church ? The conduct of the Gallican 
clergy towards the Iconoclasts ? The several decisions in regard to the pro- 
cession of the Holy Ghost ? The progress of the temporal power of the 
Popes in this century ? The increase of their ecclesiastical power ? The 
influence of Christianity in the earlier ages upon the arts ? The origin of 
the pointed or Gothic style of architecture '! The destruction of public 
libraries during the first part of the middle ages ? The service rendered to 
literature by the monks ? 

NINTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 212.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the reign of Nicephorus I. ? 
Michael I. ? The disasters of Leo V. ? His subsequent successes ? His 
administration of the empire? His assassination? Michael II.? Theo- 
philus the Unfortunate? Michael III.? The origin of Basil 1.? His 
elevation to the empire ? His administration ? His death ? Basil II. ? 

Arabia. — What account is given of the decline of Haroun Al Raschid's 
power? His death? The state of learning under A Imam on ? The war 
between Al Motassem and the Greeks ? The heresy of the Karidjies ? Of 
Djcad Ibn Dirkhem ? Of Achmet Ravendi ? Of Hakem ? Of Babek ? 
The introduction of the Turks into the service of the caliphs ? The increas- 
ing weakness and divisions of the caliphate? The heresy of Abdallah and 
the Karmathians ? 



white's universal history. 19 

Spain. — What account is given of the naval expeditions of the Saracens 
under Hakein I. ? The sedition in Cordova 7 The ravaging of Italy by the 
Moors ? The successes of the Christians in Spain ? The career of Alphonso 
the Great ? 

France. — What account is given of the reign of Louis the Debonnaire ? 
The division of the empire after his death ? The reign of Charles the Bald ? 
His coronation by Pope John VIII.? Louis III. and Carloman ? The 
union of the French and German kings against the nobles and the North- 
men ? The victory of Louis III. over the Northmen? His death ? Charles 
the Fat ? The elevation of Eudes to the crown ? His victory over the 
Northmen ? The origin and religion of the Northmen ? Their earliest 
incursions into Southern Europe ? Their ravages after the death of Charle- 
magne ? The conversion of the pirate chief, Rollo ? His establishment as 
Duke of Normandy ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the struggles of Louis the German 
against the Sclavonic tribes ? His other enterprises? The division of the 
kingdom on his death ? Its reunion under Charles the Fat ? His difncul 
ties with the Northmen ? His deposition ? The vigorous measures of 
Arnulph ? 

Italy. — What account is given of Bernard, the son of Pepin? Louis, the 
son of Lothaire ? The incursions to which Italy was exposed ? The mea- 
sures of defence adopted at Rome ? The object of the Italian league ? The 
false policy of Louis ? Its consequences ? His subsequent attempts to repair 
the mischief? The temporal independence of the Pope ? The succession 
to the empire after the death of Louis ? Disputes for the kingdom of Italy 
between the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento ? 

Britain. — What account is given of the formation of the Heptarchy under 
Egbert? The inroads of the Danes? The accession of Alfred ? The con- 
dition of the kingdom under his reign ? His legislation ? The literary 
character of Alfred ? His private character ? The Anglo-Saxon consti- 
tution ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the general decline of piety and 
learning in the Church ? The elevation of Photius to the patriarchate of 
Constantinople ? The causes of schism between the Greek and Roman 
Churches ? The rise of saint worship ? The increase of dangerous doc- 
trines ? 

TENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 225.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the accession of Constantino 
VII.? His deposition by Romanus ? Restoration of Constantine ? The 
incursions of the Bulgarians ? Of the Russians ? The successes of Nice- 
phorus ? The energy of the empire under John Zimisces ? Basil II. ? 

Italy. — What account is given of the adventures of Adelaide, Lothaire's 
widow? The condition of the papacy? The interference of Otho in the 
affairs of Rome ? The deposition of the pope, John XII. ? The demagogue 
Crescentius ? 

France. — What account is given of the deposition of Charles the Simple " 
The usurpation of Rodolph ? The extinction of the Carlovingian dynasty ? 
The elevation of Hugh Capet ? The consolidation of his power ? Robert 
the Wise ? His difficulties with the Pope ? The character of Constance i 
The origin of the feudal system ? The threefold division of the lands undei 



20 QUESTIONS TO 

that system ? The obligations of liegemen to their superiors ? The mea- 
sures which abridged the power of the nobles? 

Germany. — What account is given of the elevation of Conrad to the king- 
dom of Germany ? His death ? Henry the Fowler ? His enlargement and 
consolidation of the kingdom ? The successes of Otho the Great ? His 
attempts to consolidate the monarchy ? His checks upon the nobles ? Otho 
II.? Otho III.? 

Britain. — What account is given of the reign of Edward the Elder ? The 
accession of Athelstan ? His successes? The growing importance of Eng- 
land ? Foreign refugees in England ? The foreign connexions of Athelstan? 
His beneficent administration ? The miseries which succeeded ? The inter- 
ference of the monks ? Dunstan and the princess Elgiva ? 

Spain. — What account is given of the Moorish empire in Spain ? The 
administration of Abdalrahman III. ? His defeat at Simancas 1 His sub- 
sequent successes ? Almanzor ? The successes of the Christians under 
Ramires II.? Their subsequent defeats and final triumph ? 

Arabian Empire. — What account is given of the condition of the caliphate ? 
The office of Emir al Omra ? Obeidaltah and the Fatimites ? Origin and 
condition of the Egyptian caliphate ? The progress and conquests of the 
Mussulmans in the East? The origin of the Turks? 

The Church. — What account is given of the general character of this 
century ? The extent of Christianity at this time ? The degeneracy of the 
clergy? The condition and claims of the papacy? The dispersion of monks 
by the Normans ? Its influence upon learning ? The Eenedictines ? The 
panic respecting the end of the world ? The origin of penance ? Its ex- 
cesses ? 

The World. — What account is given of the Greek empire ? The caliph- 
ate ? The Frank kingdom ? France ? Germany ? Spain ? England ? 
Italy ? Rome ? 

ELEVENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 236.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the reign of Constantine VIII. ? 
Romanus III. ? Michael IV. ? Michael V. ? Constantine IX. ? The in- 
vasion of the Bulgarians ? The Comneni ? The elevation of Isaac by the 
army? The short-sighted policy of Constantine X.? The war of Romanus 
IV. ? The encroachments of Soliman upon the empire ? Deposition of 
Michael VII.? The accession of Alexius Comnenus? His biographer? 
His character ? The difficulties with which he had to contend ? 

Italy. — What account is given of the first visits of the Normans to Italy ? 
Their success against the infidels in Italy ? The difficulties between them 
and the Pope ? The projects of Robert Guiscard ? His death ? The suc- 
cesses of his brother Roger in Sicily ? Roger's line of policy ? The origin 
of the Italian republics ? Their condition ? Venice? Genoa? Pisa? 

Germany. — What account is given of the accession of Henry II. ? His 
coronation at Rome ? Conrad II. ? Henry III. ? His interference in the 
affairs of Rome? Henry V. ? Gregory VII. ? The controversy between 
Gregory and Henry respecting the right of investiture ? The course of the 
German aristocracy in this controversy ? Its result ? Subsequent troubles 
of Henry ? 

France. — What account is given of Robert, and the revolts of his sons 7 
The persecution of heretics ? The character of Robert ? The accession of 



white's universal history. 21 

Henry I. ? His contests with the duke of Normandy ? The reign of Philip 
I. ? His quarrels with the Popes ? 

Spain. — What account is given of the condition of the Moorish empire in 
Spain ? The origin of the Almoravides ? Their expeditions into Spain ? 
The Christian empire in Spain ? The successes of Ferdinand against the 
Arabs ? The Cid ? 

Arabian Empire. — What account is given of the conquests and policy of 
Togrul-Beg ? The victories of Alp Arslan ? The reign of Malek-Shah ? 
The condition of the empire at his death? 

Britain. — What account is given of the succession of Sweyn to the throne 
of England ? The reign of Canute the Great ? His character ? The cha- 
racter and reign of Edward the Confessor ? The expedition against Mac- 
beth ? The accession of Harold ? His expedition against the Norwegians? 
The invasion of the Normans? The battle of Hastings ? The consequence 
of this invasion? The capture of London? The general confiscation of 
property ? Policy of William towards the Saxons ? His visit to Normandy ? 
His expedition against Malcolm Canmore? The Norman constitution? 
Doomsday Book ? The revolt of William's son Robert ? The reign of Wil- 
liam Rufus ? The phrase " benefit of clergy" ? The events of Scotland ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the character of the papacy and 
the clergy ? The character and policy of Gregory VII. ? His controversy 
with the Emperor Henry IV. ? The doctrine of transubstantiation ? The 
order of Chartreuse ? The " Truce of God" ? The disuse of the vernacular 
languages in worship ? 

The Crusades. — What account is given of the origin of the Crusades ? 
The expedition of Peter the Hermit? The first crusading army ? Its num- 
bers ? Its progress through Asia Minor ? The capture of Antioch ? Of 
Jerusalem ? The new kingdom of Jerusalem ? 

Chivalry. — What account is given of the institution of chivalry ? Its 
objects and character ? 

State of the World. — What account is given of the condition of Rome 
and Germany ? France ? Spain ? England ? The other European states ? 
The Greek empire ? The caliphate ? 

TWELFTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 255.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the prowess of Manuel I. ? 
The early career of Andronicus ? His elevation to the throne ? His cruel- 
ties ? His deposition? The reign of Isaac Angelus ? The capture of Con- 
stantinople by the crusaders ? 

The East. — What account is given of the Attabeks ? The power and 
successes of Saladin ? 

Italy. — What account is given of the attempts of Frederick Barbarossa to 
establish his power in Italy ? The league against him ? Arnold of Brescia? 
The Venetians ? The marriage of the Adriatic ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the contentions between Henry V. 
and the Pope about the right of investiture ? The origin of the Guelfs and 
Ghibellines ? The plans of Frederick Barbarossa in Italy ? The close of 
his career ? Henry VI. ? 

France. — What account is given of the reign of Louis the Fat ? Louis 
VII. ? Philip Augustus ? The early deliberative assemblies of the French? 
The impulse given to the commons by Louis the Fat? The origin and his- 
tory of the States General ? 



12 QUESTIONS TO 

Spain. — What account is given of the progress of the Christians in Spain ? 
The kingdom of Portugal ? The military orders of Spain ? 

Britain. — What account is given of the progress of English liberty under 
Henry I. ? The contest for the crown between Matilda and Stephen 1 The 
«eign of Henry II.? The progress of popular liberty in his reign? The 
character and exploits of Richard I. ? The early history of Ireland? The 
sarly history of Scotland ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the advancing power of the pa- 
pacy under Paschal II.? Adrian IV. ? Alexander III. ? Innocent III.? 
The origin of the second crusade ? The march of the crusaders ? Their 
successes ? The origin and leaders of the third crusade ? The siege and 
capture of Acre ? The result of the crusade ? The parallel between it and 
the Trojan war? The Assassins ? The Druses? 

THIRTEENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 266.) 

Greek Empire. — W r hat account is given of the interference of the crusaders 
with the affairs of Constantinople ? The establishment of Alexius at Trebi- 
zond? Theodore Lascaris at Nice? Michael Paleeologus? The contro- 
versies in the Church ? Andronicus the Elder ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the accession of Frederick II. to the 
empire ? His contests with the papacy ? The interregnum after his death ? 
The double election of Richard of Cornwall and Alphonso of Castile ? The 
growth of commercial cities ? The election of Rodolph of Hapsburg ? His 
reign ? The Hanse towns ? The evidence of their wealth and power ? 

Italy. — What account is given of the Italian republics ? The misfortunes 
of the house of Hohenstaufen ? The Lombard leagues? Their contests 
with the emperor? The contentions in Italy after the death of Frederick? 
The affairs of Florence ? The commercial advantages accruing to Venice 
from the crusades ? The growth of the aristocratic influence in their con- 
stitution ? The history and power of Genoa ? Of Pisa ? The contest be- 
tween Genoa and Pisa ? The prosperity of the Italian commercial cities ? 
The attempts of the Popes to wrest Naples from the empire? The contest 
between Charles of Anjou and Manfred? Between Charles and Conradin? 
The subsequent cruelties of Charles? The insurrection and massacre ? The 
subsequent events of Sicily ? 

France. — What account is given of the difficulties between France and 
England ? The crusade against the Albigenses under Louis VIII. ? The 
character and reign of Louis IX. ? The influence of his reign ? The in- 
crease of the kingdom under Philip the Bold ? Under Philip the Fair ? 

Britain. — W T hat account is given of the circumstances which led to the 
adoption of Magna Charta? The value of Magna Charta ? The disasters 
attending the close of King John's reign? The character and reign of 
Henry III. ? The rebellion of Leicester and the barons ? The character 
of Edward I. ? His expeditions into Scotland ? 

Spanish Peninsula. — What account is given of the wars between the Moors 
and Christians in Spain ? The condition of Christian Spain at this period ? 
The successes of Alphonso X. ? His subsequent troubles ? The successes 
of Sancho IV. ? The events of the kingdom during the minority of Ferdi- 
nand IV. ? During his reign ? The attempts of the kings of Arragon to 
conquer the Balearic Isles ? The conquest and continued possession of Sicily ? 

The East. — What account is given of the affairs of Egypt? The Mame- 
lukes ? The conquests of Ghengis Khan ? The further progress of the 
Mongol power ? 



white's universal history. 23 

The Church — What account is given of the rise and progress of the 
Franciscans ? The other mendicant orders ? The history of the Inquisition ? 
The origin and persecution of the Albigenses ? 

Crusades. — What account is given of the fourth crusade ? The crusade 
of children ? The fifth crusade ? The sixth crusade ? The seventh cru- 
sade ? The eighth crusade ? The immediate effect of the crusades ? Their 
effect upon the Church ? Their political effect ? Their effect on commerce 
and industry ? Their effect on knowledge ? 

FOURTEENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 286.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the continued losses of the 
empire ? The diasters occurring in the reign of John Palaeologus ? The 
narrow bounds of the empire? The origin of the Ottoman empire? The 
establishment of the Janizaries ? The successes of Bajazet ? His cruelties ? 
His defeat? The disorders of the Mongol empire? The early history of 
Tamerlane? His eastern conquests? His contest with Bajazet? His pro- 
jects for universal dominion ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the affairs of Germany ? The origi- 
nal condition of the Swiss towns ? Their first efforts at independence ? The 
story of William Tell ? The battle of Morgarten ? The conduct of the fifty 
exiles ? The heroism of Arnold Struthan in the battle of Sempach ? The 
extent of the Helvetic confederacy ? The attempts of Henry VII. to restore 
the imperial authority in Italj? ? The contests between the Emperor Louis 
and the Popes ? The Golden Bull? The other events in the reign of Charles 
IV.? The condition of the country under Wenceslaus? The termination 
of his reign ? 

Italian Peninsula. — What account is given of the condition of Italy at 
this time ? The attempts of the Romans to resist the political power of the 
Popes ? The condition of Rome during the residence of the Popes at Avig- 
non ? The revolution attempted by Rienzi ? The causes of its failure ? The 
affairs of Genoa ? The condition of Venice? The condemnation and exe- 
cution ofFaliero? The interference of Venice with the affairs of Constanti- 
nople ? llie contests between Venice and Genoa ? The affairs of Tuscany ? 
The affairs of Florence ? The contentions between the Guelfs and Ghibel- 
lines ? The contentions between the greater arts and the less arts ? The 
affairs of Lombardy ? The affairs of Sicily and Naples under Frederick of 
Arragon ? Subsequent events in Naples ? 

France. — What account is given of the Flemish war ? The quarrels be- 
tween the French King and the Popes? The destruction of the Knights 
Templars ? The reign of Louis Hutin ? The Salic law ? The claims of 
Edward III. of England ? The sedition in Flanders ? The battle of Cressy ? 
The interposition of the Pope ? The arbitrary measures of the French King ? 
The States General ? The battle of Poictiers ? The Jacquerie ? The peace 
of 1360 ? The renewal of the war? The condition of the kingdom under 
Charles VI. ? 

Britain. — What account is given of Gaveston, earl of Cornwall ? The 
battle of Bannockburn? The rebellion of Lancaster? Rebellion of the 
Pembroke party ? The deposition of Edward ? The first steps of Edward 
III. after his accession ? The battle of Sluys ? The battle of Cressy ? Of 
Poictiers ? The treaty of Bretigny ? The Black Prince ? The general 
affairs of the kingdom ? The march of the earl of Buckingham through 
France ? The condition of the kingdom during the minority of Richard II. ? 
The rebellion of Wat Tyler ? The expedition against Scotland ? The de 
position and death of Richard ? The great Plague ? 



24 QUESTIONS TO 

Spanish Peninsula. — What account is given of the reign of Alphonso XI. ? 
The cruelties of Pedro ? His deposition ? The interposition of Edward the 
Black Prince ? The death of Pedro ? The reign of Henry II. ? His sue 
cessor John I.? The reign of Henry III.? The affairs of Aragon? The 
affairs of Portugal under Dionysius ? Under Pedro I. ? The subsequent 
events in Portugal ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the projects of Boniface VIII. ? 
His controversy with Philip the Fair ? The " Babylonish captivity ?" The 
great schism ? The attempts of Wickliffe to reform the Church ? The 
Flagellants ? The Bianchi ? 

Inventions. — What account is given of the mariner's compass? The 
invention of paper ? 

FIFTEENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 306.) 

Greek Empire. — What account is given of the reign of John Palaeologus 
II.? Constantine Palaeologus ? The siege and fall of Constantinople ? The 
dissolution of the empire? 

Ottoman Empire and Turkey. — What account is given of the invasion of 
Tamerlane ? Subsequent successes of the Turks ? The exploits of John 
Huniades ? The abdication of Amurath ? His return- to power and final 
success ? His second abdication and return to power ? The exploits of 
Scanderbeg ? The reduction of Constantinople by Mohammed II. ? His 
attempt upon Rhodes ? The siege of Belgrade ? The reduction of Athens? 
The expedition against Rhodes ? The character of Mohammed ? The dis- 
pute between Bajazet II. and Zizim ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the attempt of Robert to re-establish 
his authority in Italy? The elevation of Sigismond ? The council of Con- 
stance ? The Hussite war? The policy and conduct of Albert II., duke of 
Austria ? The concessions of Frederick III. ? His negotiations with the 
Pope ? The affairs of Saxony ? The negotiations between Frederick and 
Charles the Bold ? The consequences of the death of Charles? The acces- 
sion and marriage of Maximilian ? The decrees of the diet of Worms ? 

France. — What account is given of the condition of France under Charles 
VI. ? The rival factions of Orleans and Burgundy ? The civil wars ? The 
invasion of Henry V ? The battle of Agincourt ? The cruelties of the 
dominant party in Paris ? The assassination of the duke of Burgundy ? 
The treaty of Troyes ? The death of Henry V. and Charles VI. ? The 
accession and conduct of Charles VII. ? The condition of his kingdom ? 
The character and early history of Joan of Arc ? Her success ? Her capture 
and death? The successes of Charles? The consequences of the marriage 
of Margaret of Anjou with Henry VI. ? The policy of Suffolk ? The vic- 
tories of Dunois ? The character of Charles ? The accession of Louis XI. ? 
The troubles from opposing factions ? The hostility of the duke of Bur- 
gundy ? The manoeuvre of Louis to divert him from his purpose ? Tho 
treachery of the duke towards the king? His cruelty towards Liege? The 
interference of Louis and Charles in the affairs of England ? The reverses 
of Charles ? His death and character ? The advantages of his death to 
Louis ? The history of his daughter Mary? The death of Louis? The 
character and policy of Louis ? The regency of Anne ? The opposition 
and revolt of Orleans ? Of Maximilian ? The marriage of Charles ? His 
expedition into Italy ? His projects ? The coalition against him ? His 
return to France? His victory and death ? 

Britain. — What account is given of the difficulties of Henry IV.? The 
accession of Henry V. ? His expedition against France ? The battle of 



white's universal history. 25 

Agincourt ? His second campaign in France ? The treaty of Troyes ? 
His death and character ? The progress of the war under the duke of Bed- 
ford? The siege of Orleans ? Joan of Arc? The decline of the English 
arms ? The earl of Warwick ? The feeble conduct of the king ? The 
rebellion of Cade? The usurpation of Richard, duke of York? His over- 
throw and death ? The success and cruelty of the earl of March ? His 
accession to the throne ? His marriage and its consequences ? The conduct 
of Warwick? Restoration of Henry VI. ? The intrigues and downfall of 
Warwick ? The death of Henry and restoration of Edward IV. ? His sub- 
sequent history? Edward V.? The usurpation of the duke of Gloucester ? 
His reign ? The accession and marriage of Henry VII. ? The abolition of 
" maintenance" ? The origin of the " Star Chamber" ? Henry's invasion 
of France? The insurrection of Perkin Warbeck ? The disorders of Scot 
land during this period ? The policy of James III. towards the barons ? 
Their conspiracy ? The interposition of Gloucester in favour of Albany ? 
The conduct of the nobles towards the king ? The revolt of the duke of 
Rothsay ? The reign of James IV. ? 

Italian Peninsula. — What account is given of the wars between the Anjou 
and Durazzo families ? The elevation of Alphonzo to the throne of Naples ? 
His character and administration ? The contests between Ferdinand and 
his nobles ? The restoration of the Medici family in Florence ? John de 
Medici ? Cosmo ? Pietro ? Lorenzo ? The downfall and bankruptcy of 
the family ? The papacy ? The council of Basle ? The pragmatic sane 
tion ? The attempts to excite a new crusade? Sixtus IV. ? Innocent VIII.? 
Alexander VI. ? The affairs of Cyprus ? The interference of Venice ? The 
continental aggrandizement of Venice ? The origin and rise of Sforza ? 
The history and aggrandizement of his son, Francis Sforza ? The affairs of 
Genoa ? Ludovico the Moor ? The other Italian states ? The genera, 
condition of Italy ? 

Spanish Peninsula. — What account is given of the kingdom of Navarre? 
The generosity of Carlos to his father, John II. ? The birth of Ferdinand 
the Catholic ? The intrigues of the queen against Carlos ? The successive 
attempts of Carlos to regain his rights ? His death ? The death of Blanche ? 
The feelings of the Catalonians towards John ? The affairs of Aragon ? 
The affairs of Castile? The minority of John II.? The reign of Henry 
IV. ? The rebellion of the nobles ? The concessions of the king ? The 
marriage of Isabella ? The various tyrannical measures of the king ? The 
contest for the crown at his death ? The reforms at the accession of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella? The war against the Moors ? Abulhassan ? Boabdil ? 
The siege and capture of Granada ? The articles of capitulation ? The 
persecution and expulsion of the Jews ? The family alliances of the mo- 
narchs ? The affairs of Portugal ? The reign of John I. ? Alphonso V. ? 
His claims to the throne of Castile ? His disgust with royalty ? John II. ? 

Discoveries and Colonies. — What account is given of the maritime entei. 
prises of the Portuguese ? The discovery of Madeira ? Its value ? The 
Canary islands ? The Portuguese discoveries around Africa ? The Indies ? 
The discovery and settlement of America by the Scandinavians? The pro- 
ject of Columbus ? His various repulses ? His first voyage and return ? 
His second and third voyages ? His death ? His remains ? Americo 
Vespucci. 

The Church. — What account is given of the great schism ? The council 
of Constance ? The conduct of Martin Luther ? The council of Basle ? 
The Pope's opposition ? The pragmatic sanction ? The concessions of 
Frederick ? The decrees of the council of Basle ? The persecution of the 
Franciscans ? Wickliffe ? Huss ? The council of Constance ? The in- 
3 



2C QUESTIONS TO 

dignation excited by the execution ofHuss? The Taborites ? Tbe council 
of Florence ? The attempt to unite the Roman and Greek Churches ? 

Appendix to the Middle Ages. — What account is given of the commerce 
of Western Europe ? The principal commercial marts ? The trade with 
India? The causes of the decline of Venice ? The commercial routes ? 
The progress of commerce in England ? The woollen trade ? The fisheries ? 
The naval code ? Banks? Gunpowder:' Printing? The Great Plague? The 
Gipsies ? The revival of the arts ? The condition of learning after the death 
of Charlemagne? The languages of Europe ? The universities ? The Ro- 
mance language ? The English language and literature ? The Italian ? 
The influence of the downfall of Constantinople upon learning ? The do 
mestic measures of the age ? The sumptuary laws ? The evidences ot 
domestic and social comforts ' The condition of agriculture in England ? 
The prices of various articles ? The comparative value of money ? 

SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 350.) 
Modern History. — What account is given of the inventions that preceded 
and marked the era of this Reformation ? The influence of race and lan- 
guage ? The rise of the middle class and the decline of feudalism in the 
different states of Europe ? The comparative condition and strength of the 
leading European powers during the seventeenth century ? The leading 
events of the eighteenth century ? Its close ? 

Britain'. — What account is given of two important marriages at the be- 
ginning of this century ? The accession of Henry VIII.? The conduct of 
Wolsey ? The foreign politics of Henry ? Crafty policy of Wolsey ? 
Henry's theological discussions? The battle of Pavia, and consequent 
treaty ? Henry's passion for Anne Boleyn ? His proposals to the Pope ? 
His treatise on his marriage with Catherine ? Policy of the Pope ? Dis- 
grace of Wolsey ? Advice of Cranmer ? Proceedings of Convocation and 
Parliament in regard to the king's marriage and the Anglican Church ? 
Subsequent proceedings of Henry ? The abolition of the monasteries ? The 
death of Anne Boleyn, and marriage of Jane Seymour ? The discontents in 
England, and their consequences ? The " bloody statute" ? The death of 
Jane Seymour, and marriage of Anne of Cleves ? The disgrace of Cromwell 
and the queen ? Catherine Howard ? Catherine Parr ? Henry's attention 
to Wales ? The affairs of Ireland ? Henry's measures towards Scotland 
and France ? His death ? His character? The minority of Edward VI. ? 
The policy of Somerset ? Winchester? Proceedings of Somerset in Scot- 
land ? The progress of reform ? The projects and death of Lord Seymour? 
The downfall of Somerset? The ambitious views and projects of Warwick ? 
Lady Jane Grey ? The accession of Mary ? The intentions and policy of 
Mary ? Her measures for the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic reli. 
gion / Cardinal Pole ? The persecution of Protestants ? Death of Mary ? 
Her character ? Education of Elizabeth ? The pretensions of Mary Stuart ? 
The restoration of the Protestant religion ? Elizabeth's policy towards Scot. 
land? The oath of supremacy ? The thirty -nine articles ? Mary's flight 
into England ? The duke of Norfolk ? The bull of Pius V. ? lis effect? 
Foreign and domestic troubles of Elizabeth? Death of Mary' Warlike 
preparations of Spain? Successes of Drake ? The "invincible Armada"? 
Conduct of Elizabeth ? The preparations for defence ? Failure and destruc- 
tion of the Armada? Irish affairs? James IV.? James V. / Cardinal 
Beaton? John Knox? The Scottish reformation? Troubles and vicissi- 
tudes of Mary ? The union of Ireland with England ? Tne influence of 
Henry and Elizabeth upon Irish affairs? 

France. — What account is given of Louis XII. ? His character and 
p.'licy ? His marriages ? The state of the government and kingdom during 



white's universal history. 27 

his reign ? His foreign alliances ? His Italian expedition ? His attempts* 
upon Naples ? War with Venice ? Gaston de Foix ? Proceedings ol 
Francis I. ? Rivalry between Francis and Charles ? The Constable Bour. 
bon ? The battle of Pavia ? Subsequent treaty ? Its violation ? Subse- 
quent hostilities ? Interview between the monarchs ? Alliances of the 
French and Turks ? Religious disturbances of Germany ? The history of 
Henry II.? Francis II. ? The factions during his reign ? The conspiracy 
ofAmboise? Charles IX.? The Huguenots ? The first civil war ? The 
second civil war ? The massacre of St. Bartholomew ? The policy of Henry 

III. ? The Catholic League ? The " sixteen" ? The " barricades" ? The 
assassination of the duke of Guise? The disturbed condition of the king- 
dom? The assassination of the king ? The accession of Henry IV. ? The 
proceedings of parliament ? The edict of Nantes ? The subsequent course 
of the king ? 

• Italian Peninsula. — What account is given of the measures of Ferdinand 
of Spain to get possession of Naples ? The subsequent events in Italy ? 
The parties that favoured the French cause ? Jerome Savonarola ? The 
difference between the French and Italian soldiery ? The condition of Italy 
during these wars ? The affairs of Savoy and Piedmont? The conspiracy 
in Genoa? Andrew Doria ? Affairs of Genoa after his death ? The coali- 
tion against Venice ? Its results ? The affairs of Tuscany ? Alexander de 
Medici ? Cosmo ? Ferdinand ? The condition of the states of the Church ? 
Caesar Borgia ? Julius II. ? Leo X. ? Clement VII. ? Paul III. ? Paul 

IV. ? Gregory XIII. ? Sixtus V. ? The affairs of Parma ? 

Spanish Peninsula. — What account is given of the Spanish sovereigns ? 
The character of Ferdinand ? The accession of Charles? The cause of his 
unpopularity among the Spaniards ? The subsequent discontents ? The 
change in the Cortes? The accession of Philip II. ? His severity? Its 
consequences ? The affairs of Portugal ? Sebastian ? The union of Por- 
tugal with Spain ? The " invincible Armada" ? 

The Netherlands. — What account is given of the rise and power of the 
dukes of Burgundy ? The union of the seventeen provinces with Spain under 
Charles V. and Philip II. ? The revolt of the Flemings ? The proceedings 
of the duke of Alva? The prince of Orange? The continuation of the war 
under Louis Requesens ? The pacification of Ghent ? The formation of 
the United Provinces under William, prince of Orange ? The affairs of the 
Low Countries ? The interference of England ? Conclusion of the contes* ? 
The causes of the success of the Dutch against Philip ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the reign of Maximilian? The ele- 
vation of Charles V. ? Hostility of Francis ? The league against him ? 
His defeats? His capture? The Holy League ? The imperial forces in 
Italy ? Sacking of Rome ? The treaty of Cambray ? Martin Luther ? 
The progress of his doctrines ? The diet of Augsburg ? The policy oJ 
Charles? His brother Ferdinand ? The expedition of Charles into Africa \ 
The Anabaptists ? French and Italian wars ? The second expedition into 
Africa ? Renewal of hostilities between Charles and Francis ? The peace 
ofCrespy? The plans of Charles against the Reformers? His success? 
The subsequent revolt and success of the Reformers under Maurice ? The 
abdication of Charles ? The reign of Ferdinand I.? Maximilian II.? Ru- 
dolph II.? 

Hungary and Bohemia. — What account is given of the early history of 
these states ? The invasion of Hungary by the Turks ? The opposition of 
the Bohemians to the Austrian dominion ? The origin of the Croats and 
Pandoors ? 



28 QUESTIONS TO 

Poland and Russia. — What account is given of the early history of Poland ? 
The reign of Alexander ? Sigismund I. ? Sigismund II. ? The confedera- 
tion of 1573? Henry? Battori ? Sigismund III. ? The early history of 
Russia? Ivan III.? Vasili IV.? Theodore? Boris? 

Denmark, Sweden and Norway. — What account is given of the early his- 
tory of these countries ? Christian II. ? Gustavus Vasa ? Frederick I. ? 
The Reformation ? Sweden and Denmark ? The recess of Colding ? Erik? 
John ? Sigismund ? Charles ? 

Ottoman Empire and the East. — What account is given of the internal 
disturbances of the empire ? Selim ? The war with Persia ? The conquest 
of Egypt ? Soliman I. ? The capture of Belgrade ? The reduction of 
Rhodes? The invasion of Hungary ? Khair Eddin Barbarossa ? Subse- 
quent events by land and sea ? Domestic troubles of Soliman ? Amurath 
III. ? Sheikh Eidar in Persia ? Ismael ? Tamasp ? Mohammed Mirza ? 
Abbas ? The early history of India ? The Mohammedan conquests and 
power in India? The Ghoriar dynasty ? Tamerlane? Baber? Akbar? 
The early history of China ? The Han dynasty ? The Tang dynasty ? 
The Song dynasty ? Kublai-Khan ? 

Colonies and Discoveries. — What account is given of the West Indies ? 
Mexico ? Peru ? Brazil ? North America ? 

[Discoveries and Settlements in North America. — What account is 
given of the Cabots ? Ponce de Leon ? Varrazani ? Gomez ? Cartier ? 
Ferdinand de Soto ? Ribault? Melendez? Frobisher ? Sir Francis Drake 
and the Oregon territory ? Sir Humphrey Gilbert ? Sir Walter Raleigh's 
first expedition ? His second expedition ? His third expedition ? His fate ?] 

Colonial System. — What account is given of the condition of the Spanish 
colonies ? The Portuguese dominion in the East ? Causes of its decline ? 
Colonial policy of England ? 

The Church. — What account is given of the religious movements that 
preceded the Reformation ? Indulgences ? Luther's first opposition ? Eras- 
mus ? Leo X. ? The progress of the new opinions ? The diet at Spires ? 
The diet of Augsburg? Maurice of Saxony? The Helvetic Reformation ? 
The progress of the Reformation in France ? In other countries ? The 
council of Trent ? Its decrees ? The Jesuits ? 

Letters, Arts and Sciences. — What account is given of the consequences 
of the invention of printing? English writers ? French? Italian? Spa- 
nish ? Portuguese ? German and Dutch ? 

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY A. D, (Page 400.) 
Great Britain. — What account is given of the accession of James I. ? 
His character ? His troubles ? The Gunpowder Plot ? The oath of alle- 
giance ? The pacification and settlement of Ireland ? Buckingham ? The 
state of parties ? Death of James ? Accession and marriage of Charles I. ? 
Ship-money? Petition of right ? Laud and Strafford ? The Star Chamber ? 
The Scottish Covenant ? The Long Parliament ? The parties in the civil 
war? Its issue ? Cromwell ? Death of Charles ? The Rump Parliament? 
Montrose ? Ormond ? Charles II. ? The Protectorate ? The success of 
British arms? Death of Cromwell? His son Richard? Restoration of 
Charles II. ? His first measures ? His marriage and character? The sur- 
render of Dunkirk ? War with Holland ? The plague in London ? The 
great fire ? The persecution in Scotland ? The Test Act ? The Popish 
Plot ? Further measures of Parliament ? Accession of James II. ? His 
character ? The rebellion of Monmouth and Argyle ? The attempts of 
James to introduce the Catholic religion ? The accession of William, prince 



white's universal history. 29 

of Orange ? The influence of the revolution upon the internal affairs of the 
empire ? The disposition of the Catholics towards William ? The proceed- 
ings in Scotland? 

France. — What account is given of the minority of Louis XIII. ? Con- 
cini ? Luines ? Flight and insurrection of Mary ? Insurrection of the 
Protestants ? The character and designs of Richelieu ? His measures of 
foreign policy ? His domestic administration ? Mazarin and the Fronde ? 
The war between France and Spain ? The treaty of the Pyrenees ? The 
ambitious projects of Louis XIV.? The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle? The 
preparations for war with the United Provinces? The progress of the war? 
Its termination? The despotic character of Louis? The motives which led 
to the revocation of the edict of Nantes ? The persecuting measures of 
government ? Their consequences ? The grand alliance against France ? 
Progress of the war ? The treaty of Ryswick ? 

Spain and Portugal. — What account is given of the character and reign 
of Philip III. ? Philip IV. ? The disasters of his reign ? The Portuguese 
revolution? John IV. ? Alphonso VI. ? Peter II.? 

Italian Peninsula. — What account is given of the influence of the Refor- 
mation upon Italian affairs ? The contests of Venice with the Pope ? With 
the pirates ? With Turkey ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the affairs of Germany under Mat- 
thias ? Ferdinand II. ? The parties to the Bohemian war ? Its progress ? 
The Protestant confederacy of 1625? Designs of the emperor upon the 
liberties of the German princes ? His proceedings in Bohemia ? In Ger- 
many ? Resistance of the diet of Ratisbon ? The preparations for war 
under Gustavus Adolphus ? The progress of the war ? The defeat of Tilly ? 
The defeat of Wallenstein ? Consequences of the death of Gustavus ? Pro- 
gress of the war under Ferdinand III. ? The peace of Westphalia ? The 
accession of Leopold I. ? The confederacy of the Turks and Hungarians ? 
The siege of Vienna ? The electorate of Hanover ? The kingdom of 
Prussia? 

Holland. — What account is given of the contest between the Spanish and 
the Dutch? The origin of the Synod of Dort? Its decrees ? The resump- 
tion of hostilities with Spain ? Frederick Henry ? William II. ? The war 
with England ? Humiliation of the Dutch ? Renewal of the war under De 
Witt? William III.? 

DeniMArk. — What account is given of the reign of Christian IV. ? His 
participation in the Protestant League ? The war with Sweden ? The 
reign of Frederick III. ? Christian V.? The foreign commerce? Frede- 
rick IV. ? 

Sweden. — What account is given of Gustavus Adolphus ? The attempt 
of Sigismund of Poland? The interposition of the Czar? The proceedings 
of Gustavus in Germany ? The minority of Christina ? The part taken by 
her in the treaty of Westphalia ? Her character ? Her resignation of the 
crown ? The reign of Charles X. ? His war with Poland ? With Denmark ? 
The general pacification after his death ? The course of Charles XI. on 
attaining his majority ? His domestic administration? 

Poland. — What account is given of the interference of Sigismund in the 
affairs of Russia? In the thirty years' war? The general influence of his 
reign? Ladislaus IV.? His relations with Russia? Turkey? The in- 
fluence of the Jesuits? The reign of John Casimir ? Invasion of Gustavus? 
Bad policy of Gustavus? The part taken in this dispute by the elector of 
Brandenburg? Relations with the Cossacks and Muscovites? The acec?- 



30 QUESTIONS TO 

sion of Michael? The invasion of the Turks ? The election of Sobieski as 
John III. ? His character and achievements ? The domestic troubles of 
Poland ? 

Russia. — What account is given of the state of Russia? The invasion of 
of the Swedes and Poles? The elevation of Romanof? His pacific policy? 
His internal administration ? The minority of Alexis ? His foreign rela- 
tions and successes ? His domestic troubles ? The rebellion of Razin ? The 
internal administration ? The reign of Theodore ? Peter the Great ? 

Ottoman Empire. — What account is given of the state of the empire? 
The character of its sovereigns ? Osman ? Mustapha ? Murad ? Ibra- 
him ? Mohammed IV.? The capture of Candia ? The war in Hungary ? 
Soliman III.? Achmet II. ? Mustapha II.? The treaty of Carlowitz? 

The East. — What account is given of the affairs of Persia under Sain ? 
Abbas II. ? Hussein Mirza ? The origin of the Mantchoos ? Their rise 
to supreme power in China ? The policy of Chun-tchi ? Kang-hi ? Tive 
early history of Japan ? Its form of government? The Catholics ? The 
Dutch? The Mogul empire? Its disasters under Selim ? Jehan ? The 
reign of Aurengzebe ? The Mahrattas? Condition of the Mogul empire? 

Colonies. — What account is given of the origin of the British East India 
Company? The extension of their powers in 1624? Their progress ? The 
African companies ? The West Indies ? The settlements in North Ame- 
rica ? The French colonies ? The Spanish ? Portuguese ? Dutch ? 

[Settlement of the United States. — What account is given of the settle*, 
ment of St. Augustine ? Of Virginia ? New Plymouth ? Massachusetts ? 
New Hampshire? Maine? Rhode Island? Connecticut? New York? 
Delaware ? Maryland ? Carolina ? New Jersey ? Pennsylvania ? Georgia ?] 

The Church. — What account is given of the origin of the Jansenists? 
The hostility of the Jesuits ? The interposition of papal authority ? The 
schism among French theologians ? The Quakers ? 

Literature, Arts and Sciences. — What account is given of their condi- 
tion in England ? France ? Italy ? Spain ? Germany ? Holland ? 

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 432.) 

Great Britain. — What account is given of the Act of Succession? The 
grand alliance? Hostile movements of the French? Death of William ? 
Incidents of his reign? The accession of Anne? The successes of Marl- 
borough ? The taking of Gibraltar ? The Scottish Act of Security ? The 
treaty of union ? The continuance of the war on the continent ? Trial of 
Sacheverell ? Accession of the Tories to power? Supposed intentions of 
Anne and the Tories ? Accession of George I. ? His policy towards the 
tories? The Riot Act? The rebellion in favour of the Pretender? Its 
suppression? The Quadruple Alliance? The South Sea bubble? The 
accession of George II. ? The policy of Walpole ? War with Spain ? The 
affair of Portobello and Carthagena ? The war in behalf of the queen of 
Hungary ? The rebellion of '45 ? Its progress ? Its termination ? Its 
consequences to the Highlanders ? The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ? The con- 
dition of the British colonies ? The assistance to Prussia? The progress of 
the seven years' war under Mr.Pitt ? Accession of George III. ? The progress 
and termination of the war under Bute ? His retirement ? The career of 
John Wilkes ? The origin and object of the Stamp Act ? The ground of 
opposition to it? The concessions of the ministry ? The issue of the con 
troversy ? The affairs of Ireland ? The national debt ? The difficulties 
that beset the empire during the American war ? The parliamentary lead 






white's universal history. 31 

«;rs ? The coalition ministry ? Elevation of Mr. Pitt ? His first measures ? 
Warren Hastings ? The regency discussion ? The French revolution ? 
Commencement of hostilities ? The successes of the English? The union 
of Great Britain and Ireland ? The condition and resources of England 
during the war of the French revolution ? Her Indian possessions ? Her 
national debt? Her commerce with the United States? Evidences of 
wealth ? Sources of her power ? 

France. — What account is given of the question of the Spanish succes- 
sion ? The will of Charles II. ? The offensive alliance against Philip V.? 
The success of Eugene and Marlborough ? Embarrassed condition of Louis ? 
The successive victories of the allied powers ? The attempt at negotiation ? 
Renewal of it? The change in European affairs? The peace of Utrecht? 
The character of Louis XIV. ? His principles of government ? His army 
and revenues? The regency of Orleans ? The Mississippi scheme? Its 
plan? Its extent ? Its result ? The majority and marriage of Louis XV. ? 
The policy of Fleury ? The war against Austria and Russia? Treaty of 
Vienna ? The Pragmatic Sanction ? Its violation by Louis ? The war with 
Austria? Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ? The subsequent events of his reign? 
The state of the kingdom ? The accession and marriage of Louis XVI. ? 
His character ? His first acts ? Treaty of alliance with the United States ? 
The meeting of the Notables ? The proposition of Calonne ? The assem- 
bling of the States General ? Measures of the Third Estate ? Formation 
of the National Assembly ? Dismissal of Neckar ? Formation of the Na- 
tional Guard ? Action of the National Assembly ? Attack of the palace at 
Versailles ? Condition of the royal family ? Further proceedings of the 
assembly ? Attempted flight of the king ? Dissolution of the assembly ? 
Character and proceedings of the new assembly ? Action of Austria and 
Prussia? Condition of Paris and the royal family? The National Conven- 
tion? Execution of the king? Hostile attitude of the republic? Progress 
of the war ? First appearance of Napoleon Buonaparte ? The reign of ter- 
ror ? Its atrocities 1 Its impieties ? Downfall of Robespierre ? Military 
operations of the republic ? The Directory ? State of the war ? Napoleon's 
campaign in Italy ? Political changes consequent upon the peace of Campo 
Formio ? Napoleon's expedition into Egypt ? Expedition into Palestine ? 
His return to France ? Downfall of the Directory ? Influence of the French 
revolution upon English and continental politics ? Upon France ? 

Spain. — What account is given of the accession of Philip V. ? The war 
of the succession ? Its results upon Spain? Alberoni and Elizabeth Far- 
nese ? Their projects ? Internal administration of Alberoni ? The Quad- 
ruple Alliance? Abdication and resumption of the crown by Philip? Sub- 
sequent wars of Philip? The policy and administration of Ferdinand VI.? 
Accession of Charles III. ? War with England ? Colonial losses ? Internal 
administration ? Accession of Charles IV. ? Godoy ? War with France ? 
Treaty of alliance with France? War with England? 

Portugal. — What account is given of the reign of Peter II. ? Relations 
with England? The character and reign of John V. ? Joseph I. ? Cha- 
racter and measures of Pombal ? The earthquake of 1755 ? The expulsion 
of the Jesuits ? Accession of Maria ? Her measures ? Her melancholy 
death ? 

Italian Peninsula. — What account is given of the reign of Victor Ama- 
deus II. ? Charles Emanuel III. ? Victor Amadeus III. ? The affairs of 
Tuscany ? Of the Two Sicilies ? Of Venice ? Church affairs under Cle- 
ment XI. ? Benedict XIII. ? Benedict XIV. ? Clement XIII. ? Clement 
XIV.? Pius VI.? 



32 QUESTIONS TO 

Germany. — What account is given of the reign of Joseph I. ? Charles 
VI.? The treaty of Utrecht ? Successes against the Turks? The Prag- 
matic Sanction ? Reverses towards the close of this reign ? Claimants to 
the sovereignty of the Austrian dominions ? Proceedings of Maria Theresa 
and the European powers ? Election of Charles VII. ? Position and treaties 
of Maria Theresa? Hostilities with Prussia in 1744? Elevation of her 
husband as Francis I. ? Progress of the Austrian arms in Italy ? Internal 
administration of the queen ? The seven years' war? The reign of Joseph 
II.? Disputes about the electorate? Character and influence of Maria 
Theresa ? Ambitious designs of Joseph ? His reformations in the govern- 
ment ? Impolicy of some of his measures ? War with Turkey ? Leopold 
II.? His measures? Measures of Francis II. 7 

Holland. — What account is given of the position of William III.? The 
confederacy against Louis XIV. ? Its result ? The change in the govern- 
ment ? The character and administration of the grand pensioner, Heinsius ? 
Condition and progress of Holland after the peace of Utrecht? Banishment 
of the Jesuits ? The danger from the dykes ? The circumstances which 
led to the re-elevation of the house of Orange ? The minority of William V. ? 
Relations of the Dutch towards the United States ? Reverses ? Discontents ? 
Interposition of Prussia in favour of the Stadtholder ? Invasion of the 
French? Change of government? • 

Denmark. — What account is given of the administration of Frederick IV.? 
The salutary reforms of Christian IV.? The prosperous condition of the 
kingdom under Frederick V. ? First measures of Christian VII.? His 
marriage ? His travels ? Character and administration of Struensee ? His 
downfall? The regency of Frederick? 

Sweden. — What account is given of the accession of Charles XII. ? Ag. 
gressions of the neighbouring states? Prompt measures of Charles towards 
Denmark ? His successes over the Russians ? His measures in Poland ? 
The Russian campaign of 1708 ? His defeat in 1709 ? The stay of Charles 
in Turkey? His return, measures and death? Elevation of Ulrica Elea- 
nora? Subsequent treaties of peace? Politic administration of Frederick ? 
Factions of the Hats and Caps ? Rupture with Russia ? Its consequences ? 
Measures of Adolphus Frederick ? Measures of Gustavus III. ? Dispute 
with the army ? Subsequent events ? 

Poland. — What account is given of the elevation of Augustus II. ? His 
forced abdication ? His return to power ? Condition of the country ? Ele- 
vation of Augustus III. ? His measures? Election of Stanislaus ? Inter 
ference of Catherine in Polish affairs ? The civil war ? The project for 
partitioning Poland? Its accomplishment ? Efforts of the Polish govern- 
ment at internal reforms ? New interference of foreign powers ? Second 
partition ? Effort of Kosciusko to regain national independence ? His fail- 
ure ? Third and final partition ? Character of this transaction ? 

Prussia. — What account is given of the origin of Prussia ? The title of 
Margrave ? The house of Brandenburg ? Albert ? Frederick William ? 
Assumption of the royal title by William I. ? Administration of Frederick 
William II. ? State of the country at his death? Character and accession 
of Frederick II.? The war of the Austrian succession? Internal adminis- 
tration ? Confederacy against Prussia ? Measures of Frederick in this 
emergency ? Progress of the war ? Battle of Zorndorf ? Of Kunersdorf ? 
Capture of Berlin ? Critical position of Frederick ? Death of Elizabeth ? 
Elevation and policy of Peter III. ? Termination of the war ? Condition 
of the kingdom at his death ? His character and policy ? Reign of Frede- 
rick William II. ? 



white's universal history. 33 

Russia. — What account is given of the insurrection of the Strelitzes? The 
inferiority of the Russian soldiers in the war with Sweden ? The founding 
of St. Petersburg ? Success of the Russian arms in 1709 ? Catherine Alex- 
ina ? Her successful intrigues with the Porte ? Successes of Peter ? His 
promotion of the arts ? His character ? Reign of Catherine ? Peter II.? 
Elevation and reign of Anne ? Of Elizabeth ? Peter III. ? Elevation of 
the Empress Catherine ? Her character and measures ? Her contest with 
Turkey ? Internal administration ? The Armed Neutrality ? Further 
encroachments and conquests ? Her Polish policy ? Measures of Paul I. ? 

Turkey. — What account is given of the reign of Achmet III. ? The war 
about the Morea ? Its result ? Persian conquests ? Elevation of Mahmoud 
I. ? Persian affairs ? European war ? Reign of Osman III. ? Measures 
of Mustapha III. ? Accession of Abdul-Hamid ? War with Russia and 
Austria? Character of Selim III. ? Progress of the Austrian and Russian 
arms ? Interposition of the other European powers ? Condition of the em- 
pire ? Attempts at reform ? 

Persia. — What account is given of Mahmoud ? Tamasp ? Ashraff ? 
Nadir Kouli? His talents and power? Election of Abbas III.? Assump- 
tion of supreme power by Nadir Shah ? His victories in Afghanistan ? In 
India ? In Bokhara? His tyranny and death ? Condition of the empire ? 
Elevation of Kereem Khan ? His administration ? Lootf Ali Khan ? Aga 
Mohammed Khan ? Shah Futteh Ali ? 

India. — What account is given of the accession of Shah Aulum ? Trou- 
bles during his reign ? Character of Jehanda Shah ? Elevation of Moham- 
med Shah ? Imbecility and misfortunes of his reign ? Invasion of Nadir 
Shah ? Reign of Ahmed Shah ? Subsequent troubles ? Contest between 
the Afghans and Mahrattas ? First collision between the French and Eng- 
lish in the East? Project and measures of the French governor, Dupleix? 
Counter movements of Lord Clive ? Growing importance of Calcutta ? Its 
capture by Surajah Dowlah ? The black hole ? Successes of Clive ? Intrigue 
with Meer Jaffier ? Victory of Plassey ? Its results ? War between the 
French and English in the Carnatic ? Decline of the French ? Deposition 
and restoration of Meer Jaffier ? Progress of the English power ? Legisla- 
tion of Parliament in regard to British India? Warren Hastings? Eiforts 
of Hyder Ali ? His defeat ? Administration of Cornwallis ? Shore ? 
Weilesley ? 

United States. — What account is given of the origin of the United States? 
The government of the colonies ? Their growth and importance ? The 
proceedings of the colonists in regard to the shipments of tea? The Boston 
Port Bill ? The Congress of 1774 ? Their measures ? Battle of Lexington? 
Congress of 1775 ? Battle of Bunker's Hill ? The appointment of General 
Washington as commander-in-chief? Expedition into Canada ? Evacua- 
tion of Boston ? The Declaration of Independence? Successes of the Bri- 
tish ? Capture of Burgoyne ? French alliance ? Movements of General 
Clinton ? The British and French fleets ? Success of Clinton in the Caro- 
linas ? Subsequent success of Greene ? Capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown? 
Treaty of peace ? Conduct of Washington? State of the country ? Con- 
vention to form the constitution? Outline of the form of government? 
Character and administration of Washington ? 

Hayti. — What account is given of the history and condition of this island? 
The state of public opinion concerning slavery ? Decree of the Constituent 
Assembly ? Disastrous consequences ? Elevation of Toussaint? His over- 
throw and death ? Revolt of John James Dessalines? The division of the 
island ? Its reunion under Boyer ? State of the island ? 



,34 QUESTIONS TO 

The Church. — What account is given of the progress of infidel opinions? 
Dictionnaire Encyclopedique ? Voltaire? Other French writers? The 
suppression of the Jesuits ? Breaking down of the papal authority ? The 
measures of the French infidels ? The origin of the Methodists ? Their 
character and influence? 

Literature, Arts and Sciences. — What account is given of Prior, Young, 
Pope, &c. ? 

NINETEENTH CENTURY A. D. (Page 490.) 

Great Britain. — What account is given of the union of Great Britain and 
Ireland ? Progress of the French on the continent ? Success of Nelson ? 
Change of Russian relations? Events in Egypt ? Treaty of Amiens ? Re- 
newal of hostilities ? Designs of Napoleon ? Measures of Pitt ? Battle of 
Trafalgar ? Battle of Austcrlitz ? The British ministry ? Carrying off of 
the Danish navy ? Other acts of the new ministry ? Power of Napoleon on 
the continent ? Reaction of public opinion against him ? Events in the 
peninsula under Wellesley ? Dalrymple ? Moore ? Recall of Wellesley to 
the peninsula? His success? The Walcheren expedition? Position of 
Austria? Battle of Busaco? Torres Vedras? The Regency? Progress 
of the British arms under Wellington ? Distress of the nation ? Change of 
ministry ? War with the United States? Successes of the northern powers? 
Wellington's campaign of 1812? 1813? 1814? Progress of the allies ? 
Abdication of Napoleon ? Proceedings of the allied sovereigns ? Renewal 
of the war ? Battle of Waterloo ? Exile and death of Napoleon ? Evils 
resulting from his ambition ? Its lesson to nations ? Efforts for the im- 
provement of the race ? 

France. — What account is given of the elevation of Napoleon ? His pro- 
position to England and Austria? Progress of the war in Germany ? In 
Italy ? Battle of Hohenlinden ? Treaties of peace ? Aims of Napoleon ? 
Domestic troubles ? Re-establishment of religion ? Legion of Honour ? 
General administration of affairs? Hostile measures on both sides ? Mur- 
der of the duke of Enghien? Coronation of Napoleon as emperor of the 
French ? Coalition against him ? His invasion of Germany ? His suc- 
cesses ? Terms of the treaty of Presburg? His progress towards universal 
dominion? War with Prussia ? Activity and success of Napoleon ? Berlin 
decrees ? War with Russia ? Peace of Tilsit ? Arrogant proceedings 
towards Portugal? Spain? Renewal of the war by the Austrians? Its 
result? His marriage ? Extent of his power? Preparations lor war with 
Russia? Capture of Smolensk ? Battle of Borodino ? Capture and burning 
of Moscow? Position of Napoleon ? Retreat from Russia? Attempts to 
reinforce his army ? New victories ? Reverses of Napoleon ? His retreat 
to France ? New levy ? The allied forces ? Genius displayed by Napoleon 
in this emergency 1 Result of the campaign ? Elevation of Louis XVIII. ? 
Terms of the peace ? Discontents in Paris ? Return of Napoleon ? His 
attempts to maintain his position? Forces under Blucher and Wellington ? 
Battle of Waterloo ? Character of Napoleon by Dr. Channing ? General 
pacification at Paris ? 

Spain. — What account is given of the condition of Spain under the admi- 
nistration of Godoy ? Secret plot lor the partition of Portugal ? Intrigues 
of the French in Madrid ? Abdication of the king ? Forced cession of the 
crown to France ? Nomination of Joseph ? Popular insurrection ? Inter- 
ference of the British ? Restoration of Ferdinand ? His illiberal policy? 

Portugal. — What account is given of the policy of Napoleon towards 
Portugal ? The occupation of the country by the French ? Their expulsion 
by the British? Subsequent movements of the royal family ? 



white's universal history. 35 

Italy. — What account is given of the interference of the French in the 
affairs of Naples? The career of Murat in Naples ? The settlement of upper 
Italy agreed upon in the Congress of Vienna? Switzerland ? 

Germany. — What account is given of the contest between Napoleon and 
the Emperor ? The Confederation of the Rhine ? Humiliation of the Ger- 
man princes by Napoleon ? Successes of the Archduke Charles? Settlement 
of Germany established by the Congress of Vienna? 

Holland. — What account is given of the French interference in the affairs 
of Holland? Character and policy of Louis ? His abdication ? Revolution 
in favour of the house of Orange ? Settlement of the provinces by the Con. 
gress of Vienna ? 

Denmark. — What account is given of the affairs of Denmark ? 

Sweden. — What account is given of the accession of Charles XIII.? Ces- 
sions to Russia ? Alliance with Napoleon ? Election of Bernadotte ? Al- 
liance with England ? Settlement of the country ? 

Prussia. — What account is given of the administration of Frederick III.? 
Harsh terms of Napoleon ? His oppression? The popular feeling? Suc- 
cesses of the Prussians under Blucher and others ? The Tugenbund ? Set- 
tlement of the country by the Congress of Vienna? 

Russia. — What account is given of the character and death of Paul ? First 
measures of Alexander ? Meeting with Napoleon ? Its consequences ? War 
with Turkey? Hostile feelings towards France? Declaration of Napoleon? 
The progress of the Russian arms ? Settlement of the Congress of Vienna ? 

Turkey. — What account is given of the foreign relations of the Porte ? 
The discontents of the Janissaries ? Hostilities with England and Russia ? 
Elevation and deposition of Mustapha IV. ? Elevation of Mahmoud II. ? 
His character and measures? Mehemet Ali ? Ibrahim? Greek inde- 
pendence ? 

British India. — What account is given of the policy of the British in 
India'.' The Mahrattas? Movements of Scindia ? Successes of General 
Lake ? Of Wellington ? The result of these victories ? New war with the 
Mahrattas ? Policy of Lord Minto ? Proceedings of the marquis of Hast- 
ings ? The extent and population of British India ? Religion of the na- 
tives ? The government ? 

United States. — What account is given of the condition of the United 
States ? Political parties ? Increase of power, territory and population ? 
Expedition against Tripoli ? Difficulties with England ? The non-inter- 
course act of 1809 ? Its results? Declaration of war ? Expeditions into 
Canada ? Naval battles? Proceedings of General Ross ? Defeat of Pack- 
enhum? Extension of territory under Monroe? 

Brazil. — What account is given of the revolution in Brazil ? Its present 
form of government? 

Spanish Colonies. — What account is given of the state of the colonies? 
Attempt of Miranda ? Congress of 1810 ? New Grenada ? Bolivar ? The 
rising of the other Spanish states ? Present condition of the South American 
states ? 

Literature, Arts and Sciences. — What account is given of Crabbe, 
Shelley, Sic. &c. ? 

Conclusion. — What account is given of the Congress of Vienna ? The 
progress of democratic principles ? General condition and prospects of the 
world ? The reign of Louis XVIII. ? Charles X.? Prince Polignac ? In- 
surrection in Paris ? Change of government ? Elevation and administration 



36 QUESTIONS. 

of Louis Philippe? Revolution in Belgium ? Insurrection in Poland? Com- 
mercial reverses in Great Britain ? Catholic emancipation ? Accession of 
William IV. ? Administration of Earl Grey ? Reform Bill 1 Abolition of 
slavery in the British West Indies ? Accession of Queen Victoria ? The 
condition of the peninsula ? Contest between Don Carlos and Christina ? 
Interference of France and England ? Appointment of Espartero ? Contest 
in Portugal between Don Miguel and Don Pedro ? Interference of England 
and France? Treaty of 1834 ? Majority of Donna Maria ? The public 
feeling in regard to the Greeks ? Battle of Navarino ? War between the 
Turks and Russians ? Present condition of Greece ? Of Turkey ? Of 
Egypt ? Commercial league of Germany ? Condition of Prussia ? Pro- 
gress of British power in India? Origin of the dispute with China? Pro- 
ceedings of Lin ? Hostilities against the Chinese ? Treaty of commerce ? 



END OF THE QUESTIONS 



K 716 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proc 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: » pp ni 

PreservationTechnologi 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVA 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



